tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29027467294499981622020-06-02T01:38:19.465-07:00Ethics 4 A Digital WorldResources and discussion forum for parents, teachers and young people navigating the ethical minefield of the digital worldSam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173026838929574083noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-78109520347462922842019-01-31T17:15:00.002-08:002019-02-26T13:26:07.421-08:00Sharing Photos Online - What are the rules?This past fall, Sam and I were invited to appear on our local TV station, King5, for a segment on their Take5 show. They happened to be broadcasting live from the Puyallup Fair, so it was an easy jaunt down to the fairgrounds one Friday afternoon to be interviewed about social media etiquette, particularly as it relates to sharing photos. After the producers found us online through a Google search, they reached out about taping a segment of the show focused on "whether it's okay to post photos of other people's kids (without their parents' permission)." How do we feel about this?<br /><br />Short answer: We don’t think adults should post pics of other people’s kids without their consent.<br /><br />More detailed answer: We believe that this is one of those areas where we can begin to teach the concept of consent to our children in a respectful way, no matter their age. We often see incidents where someone has taken an unflattering picture or video of someone and posted it publicly for the world to comment upon and ridicule. While that’s extreme, parents can model appropriate behavior and good digital citizenship by showing their children that they share media respectfully, too. Simply asking for permissions before you take a picture should be an easy thing to do, we just need to develop the habit.<br /><br />We would advise parents NOT to post photos of other people’s children without their consent (the child him/herself and for the very young, they would need the other parent’s consent). Children often have a digital footprint established before they are even aware of it. As they grow older, we want them to have some agency over what that footprint looks like, and this is an easy conversation for families to have. They can even look through a collection of photos together and decide which ones should be posted. Then, when it comes to other people’s children in photos, the stage is set for asking the questions. For example, last year at my daughter’s Homecoming, we hosted some of her friends for dinner before the dance, and then we took group photos before they left. I asked them if it was okay to post the photos on Instagram and Facebook, where their parents (who I’m friends with) could see them. They said it was okay, and for a few, I texted photos directly to their parents, who had asked ahead of time for me to send them some. In this case, since I wasn't their mother, the kids were actually more agreeable about <i>me</i>&nbsp;sharing their photos than their own parents. Ah, teenagers. :)<br /><br />Obviously, issues around photo sharing aren't always that simple, especially when it comes to sports teams, group events, recitals, etc. People want to share these things—and with the very best of intentions. Always stopping to get permission seems overbearing and laborious. Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea. A better option might be to&nbsp;have coaches or teachers establish team&nbsp;media guidelines and ask that people who do NOT want their child's photo shared to let them know. In large groups, it's easier to be respectful of people's wishes when we know who opts out, who&nbsp;<b>shouldn't</b>&nbsp;be in the photo, rather than asking each individual for permission to be included. The assumption is that photos will be taken and shared in the group setting. As long as that is clearly communicated ahead of time, parents can feel more confident that they aren't doing anything unexpected or disrespectful.<br /><div><br /></div><div>What do you think?<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="true" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://media.king5.com/embeds/video/281-8252195/iframe" style="border-color: #e6e6e6; border-style: solid; border-width: 1px;" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe> </div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-73858119296182024042018-04-12T18:50:00.001-07:002018-04-12T18:50:12.009-07:00Raising Kids in a Digital World Resources<iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vSFGY2fYSHZzOADauJowRXooHk0HUEUQ6w8luTdqp9K2dd4Gau7WdrnYu85y17QX7M98vzi30OQ6D2h/embed?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/184g9bJ59JdDIBIKaMKepaI4FrNXSrm8xAUl0N1GZbBQ/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Raising Kids in a Digital World resource list</a>Sam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173026838929574083noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-87468841721484864052016-11-11T11:55:00.005-08:002016-11-11T11:55:57.640-08:00Screens and ADD/ADHDLast night, we were graciously invited by the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ShermanElementaryPTSA/" target="_blank">Sherman Elementary PTSA</a> to moderate a Q&amp;A session after their sponsored screening of the <a href="http://www.screenagersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Screenagers</a> documentary for their school community, other Tacoma Public Schools, and the South Sound community at large. What a great night! The number of children in the audience was incredible, and the kids asked some really thoughtful questions about the impact of video games on their time and their bodies, what happens to their brains (and sometimes their tummies) when they sit for too long consuming media, and shared their own experiences and sometimes even asked for a bit of guidance with questions that started with, "Is it okay to...?"<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KYksKnRKoeI/WCYg5zgD4bI/AAAAAAAAJOM/B7NeWtMJXDspbHoSHb0wFyjLTTfPXfF3wCLcB/s1600/26020290882_060e697d73_m.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KYksKnRKoeI/WCYg5zgD4bI/AAAAAAAAJOM/B7NeWtMJXDspbHoSHb0wFyjLTTfPXfF3wCLcB/s1600/26020290882_060e697d73_m.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spedster/26020290882" target="_blank">"Screen Time Togetherness"</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/spedster/" target="_blank">ExpectGrain</a> <br />is licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 2.0</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table>We got one question in particular that stood out to me, and it came from a child inquiring whether or not there were good or bad differences for kids with ADD/ADHD when it comes to screen time. Such a thoughtful question! Believe it or not, when we first started working to host the film at our own school <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2016/04/screenagers-coming-may-18th-to-cwa.html" target="_blank">last spring</a>, we did so with the support and guidance of our local <a href="http://www.chadd.net/template.cfm?affid=394&amp;p=about" target="_blank">Pierce County chapter of CHADD</a> (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). &nbsp;At that time, I published this article on the <a href="http://www.charleswright.org/screenagers-health-technology/" target="_blank">Charles Wright</a> website. I share it here again, as it provides information and helpful links.<br /><br /><span style="color: #073763;">The intersection of technology and attention disorders is quite complicated, especially if you have read recent headlines like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/03/25/is-the-internet-giving-us-all-adhd/">Is the Internet Giving Us All ADHD?</a> (Washington Post, March 2015) juxtaposed with other offerings claiming <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalearcher/2015/06/25/technology-makes-adhd-better-not-worse-part-i/#1ecbbdb57e3d">Technology Makes ADHD Better, Not Worse</a>(Forbes, June 2015). How are we to make sense of all this? In our current digital age, we use technology to learn, communicate, organize, create, and be entertained. Our growing use of, and dependence on, these devices has teachers, researchers, and doctors asking questions about the impact of all this connectedness not only on our ability to focus and pay attention to tasks, but on our health and well-being in general. Within the last year, the phrase <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/you-will-be-distracted-while-you-listen-podcast/">adult onset ADHD</a> has actually become a thing (even though it’s NOT really a thing), as we all struggle to understand why we are so easily drawn to, and distracted by, our smart phones. Think “SQUIRREL!” from the movie “Up.”<br /><br />Well, to link the distracting nature of technology directly to ADHD is a bit disingenuous. As author Caitlin Dewey points out in her piece for the Post, “The Web certainly may cause ADHD-like symptoms, and it could exacerbate the disorder in children and adults who suffer from it already … but there’s no evidence that Internet use could actually cause an otherwise healthy person to develop the disorder. After all, ADHD is believed to have a range of underlying genetic causes, things you couldn’t just ‘catch’ from a computer screen.” What many are actually alluding to when they discuss such distractibility is not ADHD, but multitasking, which years of brain <a href="http://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask.aspx">research</a> now shows to be an impossibility. No matter how good we think we are at multitasking, what we are actually doing is task-switching. Perhaps we don’t notice because we do it so rapidly, but each and every time our brain has to make the switch between tasks, however small, it takes a toll on our productivity. We are drawn to the beep, buzz, alert, or notification that forces the change in focus, and we lose track of where we are because we haven't actually seen a single task through to the end. Hence we can feel like we are doing a lot of things but accomplishing nothing at the same time. Sound familiar?<br /><br />As for the realities of ADHD and technology, parents are often baffled that their child can’t sit still long enough to read a book or complete a project, but put them in front a videogame and they can play for hours. There are multiple factors at work here. <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/04/459990844/were-thinking-about-adhd-all-wrong-says-a-top-pediatrician">Dr. Dimitri Christakis</a>, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and the director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Children's Hospital in Seattle, urges us to think about ADHD differently than we currently do, not in terms of who can and cannot pay attention, but as a spectrum of “attentional capacity.” All of us exist somewhere on this continuum, and finding out what works for each of us is critical. The ADHD brain works differently. As <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalearcher/2015/06/25/technology-makes-adhd-better-not-worse-part-i/#64ddcdb57e3d">Dr. Dale Archer</a> puts it, “The chaotic effect of competing sources of information that can distract and derail others is like manna to an ADHDer, for whom these extreme states actually boost a feel-good response in the brain. It’s why many with ADHD appear so focused and functional in the middle of a maelstrom.” That super-focused videogame player? The stimuli of the game, and the rapid nature of your choices leading to immediate rewards, is exactly what an ADHD brain craves, he says. So in this case, the child’s attentional capacity for the game is greater than it might be for other activities that do not offer similar rewards. Who wouldn’t choose the game in those circumstances?<br /><br />There is still cause for concern, however, in that too much time/attention devoted to a certain task can be a problem. Discussing the common misconception that people with ADHD simply cannot pay attention, <a href="http://www.drhallowell.com/">Dr. Ned Hallowell</a>, one of the country’s leading experts on ADHD, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/02/if-you-can-pay-attention-you-do-not-have-adhd-and-9-other-misperceptions-about-the-disorder/">puts it this way</a>: “People with ADHD can super-focus at times and pay better attention than anyone. When what they are doing interests them they often go into a state of hyper-focus, such that they lose track of the passage of time or their biological needs and drives. It is when they are not interested that their minds wander. But their minds do not go empty, which is why attention deficit is such a misnomer. In ADHD attention wanders, but it never disappears.”<br /><br />So how does a family manage their use of technology and screen time, whether ADHD is present in the home or not? For all of us to maximize our attentional capacity, we need to critically look at how we are spending our time and seek the right balance. For the parent who feels like Snapchat and Instagram have “stolen” their child from them, this means some pretty critical thinking needs to occur about how, when, and why your child has access to social media. Add adolescence and hormones to the mix and we really have a lot to learn!</span><div><span style="color: #073763;"><br /></span></div><div>That's where we left off last year with an invitation to join us for the film screening. This fall, we invite you to a few things as well, and hope that you will join us as together we explore and learn more about the impact of technology on our brains and learning.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>November 16, 2016 - 6:30-7:30pm</b>. The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.chadd.net/template.cfm?affid=394&amp;p=about" target="_blank">Pierce County CHADD</a>&nbsp;meetings are held monthly at CWA. Next Wednesday guest speaker Dr. Jill C. Kinney, Ph.D., PLLC will be talking about "ADHD and the Family System- Support for Everyone." Keep up with the group on their&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/piercecountychadd/" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>, too!</div><div><br /></div><div><b>January 19, 2017 - 6:30-8:00pm</b> at Charles Wright Academy. This is the date for our annual <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/raising-kids-in-a-digital-world-tickets-28692319500?aff=ehomecard" target="_blank">Raising Kids in a Digital World</a> workshop. Please click the link for more information and to RSVP. The event is FREE, open to all, your t(w)eens are invited to come too, and there will be free childcare for very young children.<br /><br />In the meantime, here are a few more great articles/books that might help you in your journey.</div><div><ul><li><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/05/498477634/learning-in-the-age-of-digital-distraction" target="_blank">Learning in the Age of Distraction</a></li><li><a href="http://catherinesteineradair.com/" target="_blank">The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationships in the Digital Age&nbsp;</a></li><li><a href="http://makeitstick.net/" target="_blank">Make it Stick: The Science of Successful Learning</a></li><li><a href="http://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/02/video-game.aspx" target="_blank">Info from the APA on the benefits of playing video games</a></li></ul><div>And don't forget to check out the <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#home" target="_blank">new tools from the American Academy of Pediatrics</a>, which we wrote about in our <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2016/11/aap-media-use-guidelines-updated.html" target="_blank">last post</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>We hope to see you soon!</div></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-10038428027504764612016-11-10T16:51:00.001-08:002016-11-10T16:52:05.396-08:00AAP Media Use Guidelines Updated!So I have a lot of catching up to do...<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PyZNIUKqUg/WCUGeXJt6vI/AAAAAAAAJNI/Xc5QCWBeoaQIk5cI8sJ4vvYWYBgYtqPsQCLcB/s1600/IMG_0010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5PyZNIUKqUg/WCUGeXJt6vI/AAAAAAAAJNI/Xc5QCWBeoaQIk5cI8sJ4vvYWYBgYtqPsQCLcB/s320/IMG_0010.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My growing collection</td></tr></tbody></table>I just discovered an unfinished draft of a post I began writing last spring entitled, <b>"Teens, Social Media, and Books That Make Me Want to Throw ALL THE PHONES into the Ocean."</b> Wow. Seems pretty intense, but it was definitely how I was feeling after reading a few new books that I added to my collection. Tonight, Sam and I are hosting a post-film Q&amp;A for <a href="http://www.screenagersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Screenagers</a> again, so I wanted to refresh my memory on some things, lest I let my passion overrule reason. Today, I put the books I keep in my office at school into a pile and snapped a photo. Can you guess which ones stirred up the most passionate responses? Actually, the hardest one to see here (sideways) is probably what prompted me to write that title back in April. <a href="http://www.nancyjosales.com/books/" target="_blank">Nancy Jo Sales' American Girls</a>. I super highly recommend the book, don't get me wrong. (I recommend all of these!) But I think I was in a particularly tender place as a parent of teenage girls, and we were in Maui for Spring Break, and a lot of people at the beach were on their devices, and I could see the ocean RIGHT THERE. :)<br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dnr.vnr1.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2LineAAPLogoPos.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://dnr.vnr1.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/2LineAAPLogoPos.png" height="93" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://dnr.vnr1.com/2016/10/04/aap_mediarecommendations/" target="_blank">New Media Recommendations</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Anyway, more importantly right now, I need to share the newest guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics! We've been talking about these for a while, even if we forgot to write about them. Last year the AAP sort of "fast-tracked" a revision of the screen time guidelines they published several years ago. What we've all learned since that time is that not all screen time is alike, and hard and fast time limits don't accurately address the concerns we have about what kids are actually DOING while on screens. What they've come up with, and <a href="http://dnr.vnr1.com/2016/10/04/aap_mediarecommendations/" target="_blank">just published</a> a few weeks ago, is sooooo helpful! While you can read more in-depth reports&nbsp;<a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/19/peds.2016-2592" target="_blank">here</a>&nbsp;and <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/19/peds.2016-2591" target="_blank">here</a>, and Forbes actually did a pretty great review of the whole thing <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanshapiro/2015/09/30/the-american-academy-of-pediatrics-just-changed-their-guidelines-on-kids-and-screen-time/#7c703716137c" target="_blank">here</a>, what I'm most excited to share with you are the new online tools to help you craft your family's <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx" target="_blank">Media Use Plan</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#wizard" target="_blank">The Media Use Plan</a></span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIbjSUgSAbk/WCUTiuJkZnI/AAAAAAAAJNY/qXEqlX_OUG8LP3Vh7SV39jP3CByn-6qoQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-10%2Bat%2B4.39.01%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bIbjSUgSAbk/WCUTiuJkZnI/AAAAAAAAJNY/qXEqlX_OUG8LP3Vh7SV39jP3CByn-6qoQCLcB/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-10%2Bat%2B4.39.01%2BPM.png" width="235" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#wizard" target="_blank">Media Time Calculator</a></td></tr></tbody></table>I DID THIS AT MY HOUSE! I wanted to try out the tools myself, and I have to say I came away very impressed. There are some really useful things here. First, you'll see a <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#wizard" target="_blank">Media Time Calculator.</a> This helpful tool allows you to put in your children's names and ages, and then you'll be taken to a timeline where the recommended hours of sleep and exercise are already input for you. As you add things to your child's day, like school hours, activities, chores, and family/meal times, you can see the huge chunk of media/screen time start to shrink. It's handy to begin here so you and your kids can begin thinking about how much time they actually spend doing certain things during their average day. What I found most helpful about it, as I experienced a series of eyerolls from my teenagers, was that I could ask questions like, "what seems like a reasonable amount of time for _____ to you?" And we could start from there. <br /><br />The second part is the actual <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx#wizard" target="_blank">Family Media Plan</a>. Here, you are walked through a series of options to select and choose as you craft your family's "rules" together. There are helpful links to current research within the sections, and if you actually have your child in the driver's seat on clicking the buttons and asking the questions, all the better. Together, you get to discuss and decide on:<br /><br /><ol><li><b>Screen Free Zones</b> - where are they in your house? Bedrooms? The dinner table? Do you want to add a few of your own, like the car, or specify only one screen at a time, like no phones when we're all on the couch watching a movie? Customize at will!</li><li><b>Screen Free Times</b> - at what times of day are electronics off limits?</li><li><b>Device Curfews</b> - everyone's favorite! What time do we turn them off? Where do they live at night while they're charging?</li><li><b>Choose &amp; Diversity Your Media</b> - tons of options for what to do when you have recreational screen time. PLUS, this is a good place to insert a conversation about the&nbsp;<b>content</b> of the media you consume.</li><li><b>Balancing Online &amp; Off-line Time</b> - in this section you get to specifically talk about what you'll have time for when you decrease screen time.</li><li><b>Manners Matter</b> - even if it feels like you are repeating yourself, it's nice to have a REASON to reiterate your guidelines and expectations for behavior. Check all the boxes, but chat about each one. Then decide if that really covers it, or if you need more specific rules. In my house, for example, I'm adding a rule about digital manners when there are guests in our home, and asking permission before photographing and/or sharing things about others online.</li><li><b>Digital Citizenship</b> - another section where it's easy to check all the boxes, but please take the time to have a conversation about what these things actually look like in action.</li><li><b>Safety First</b> - digital rules for privacy and safety.</li><li><b>Sleep &amp; Exercise</b> - make a commitment!</li></ol><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJ0hsUqiZmk/WCUUHch3BJI/AAAAAAAAJNc/TOEeasOHZTosRnNF5XY_gxgC6ekVD2QUQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-10%2Bat%2B4.42.48%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wJ0hsUqiZmk/WCUUHch3BJI/AAAAAAAAJNc/TOEeasOHZTosRnNF5XY_gxgC6ekVD2QUQCLcB/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-10%2Bat%2B4.42.48%2BPM.png" width="311" /></a></div>When you're done, you'll have a printable family plan that you can all sign and hold each other accountable to. I'm not saying this is going to be easy in practice, but the AAP has sure done their work to provide you with the most current information, and the easiest tools to help you put good healthy media habits into practice.&nbsp;</div><div><br /></div><div>My best advice would be to take your time, spread the conversation out over multiple sit-downs, and really dig into each section in a thoughtful manner. At the same time, in our busy households, it wouldn't be hard to do this whole thing in 15 minutes and be done with it. If that's all the time you have, seize it! But the value really comes in the conversation, the verbal agreement you all make with each other, and the time to express opinions, disagreements, compromises, and ownership of the rules. If you need to put your plan together quickly, do it, but realize you'll need to come back to it as your children grow and mature, and you might find after a couple weeks that the rules you thought would be so easy to follow and enforce need some realistic tweaking.<br /><br />This isn't a one and done proposition. It's an ongoing conversation from which your family will benefit in the long run.<br /><br />Let us know how it goes!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-89607826702349478332016-04-26T15:40:00.003-07:002016-04-26T15:41:43.841-07:00Screenagers: Coming May 18th to CWA!How wonderful when a confluence of events leads to an educational opportunity!<br /><br />Let me explain.<br /><br /><a href="http://evolving-parents.com/wp-content/uploads/peerpressure-450x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://evolving-parents.com/wp-content/uploads/peerpressure-450x450.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a>As you know, Sam, Emily, and I have done an annual <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RxfdywI6BYlT0YCNZLx1PXvfEB9mit5rt5iCaUcCi_g/pub?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=3000" target="_blank">parent workshop</a> for Charles Wright Academy families for several years now. This past January, our audience was bigger than ever, and we ran overtime by at least an hour as people lingered to ask more questions and talk to each other. Emily wrote a <a href="http://evolving-parents.com/2016/02/02/under-pressure/" target="_blank">brilliant blog post</a> in the aftermath of our evening when she realized, and beautifully put into words, what we were all needing that evening. To not feel so <i>alone</i> in our parenting decisions. The feeling of community was palpable, as we finally closed the doors at 8:45 for an event scheduled to end at 7:30.<br /><br />One of the last suggestions made by a member of our audience asked us to do another workshop, but one where they could bring their kids with them, to hear the same message, and to begin the work as a family of crafting guidelines and rules for technology use that everyone could live with. Backed up by research, of course. &nbsp;:)<br /><br />So that's <b>PART ONE</b>. Genius suggestion. Why hadn't we thought of it before?<br /><br /><b>PART TWO</b>, in the next couple of weeks my email inbox and my Facebook messages blew up with links to the new documentary <a href="http://www.screenagersmovie.com/" target="_blank">Screenagers</a>. Had I heard of it? Did I know anything about it? Was there any way we could bring it to CWA to screen it? "I saw this and thought of you" type stuff. It had just debuted in February and was getting a lot of buzz online. So I checked into it...could we do this? What was it going to take? Navigating the school calendar is almost a labyrinth from which there is no escape. I know, because I built our current system, so I can see ALL THE CALENDARS! Not many openings in the spring time around here...we get BUSY.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/LQx2X0BXgZg/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LQx2X0BXgZg?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /><br />But one date was already on the calendar, May 18th. <b>PART THREE!</b> Sam and I were slated to be guest speakers at the <a href="http://www.chadd.net/template.cfm?affid=394&amp;p=about" target="_blank">Pierce County CHADD</a> meeting hosted on our campus by my wonderful colleague and gifted learning specialist, Mary Beth Cole. Would we come and talk to the CHADD group about technology and ADHD? Of course! Emily was slated as the guest speaker in March, and we would take the May meeting. Bimonthly doses of the three of us, as it were. I pitched my idea of combining the CHADD meeting with the film screening, and Mary graciously accepted our offer. So I got serious about securing the rights to show the film.<br /><br />Enter <b>PART FOUR</b>, our admissions and marketing team. Our first workshop was open to the public, this event would be too. Our school has a strong commitment to providing resources to and activities for the South Puget Sound region, in addition to our own families. In the list of available screenings thus far, the next closest location to view the film was in Olympia. If we did it here, we could garner a broad audience from many local neighborhoods and school districts. Excellent!<br /><br />The icing on the cake? Our incredible <a href="http://www.charleswright.org/community/parent-association/" target="_blank">Parent Association</a>,&nbsp;<b>PART FIVE</b>. Kathy Hinz, the current Steering Committee chair of the PA, had already heard the buzz and she had simultaneously been in contact with the Screenagers folks about getting the film here. She had already heard back from them and the Parent Association was totally on board to sponsor the film for us! How did I get so lucky?<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/screenagers-growing-up-in-the-digital-age-tickets-23932760531" target="_blank">So it's on!&nbsp;</a></span><br /><br />I've been working on a piece for our school blog, which I'm sharing parts of here, so you can see how everything has conspired to bring us all together one more time this year. I sure don't feel so alone right now. RSVPs stand at 200 and counting...Thanks to all for helping make it happen!<br /><br /><div><hr /><br /></div><i>Official CHADD/technology connection, though this is an event for everyone:</i><br /><br />The intersection of technology and attention disorders is quite complicated, especially if you have read recent headlines like <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2015/03/25/is-the-internet-giving-us-all-adhd/">Is the Internet Giving Us All ADHD?</a> (Washington Post, March 2015) juxtaposed with other offerings claiming <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalearcher/2015/06/25/technology-makes-adhd-better-not-worse-part-i/#1ecbbdb57e3d">Technology Makes ADHD Better, Not Worse</a> (Forbes, June 2015). How are we to make sense of all this? In our current digital age, we use technology to learn, communicate, organize, create, and be entertained. Our growing use of, and dependence on, these devices has teachers, researchers, and doctors asking questions about the impact of all this connectedness not only on our ability to focus and pay attention to tasks, but on our health and well-being in general. Within the last year, the phrase <a href="https://www.wnyc.org/story/you-will-be-distracted-while-you-listen-podcast/">adult onset ADHD</a> has actually become a thing (even though it’s NOT really a thing), as we all struggle to understand why we are so easily drawn to, and distracted by, our smart phones. Think “SQUIRREL!” from the movie “Up.”<br /><br />Well, to link the distracting nature of technology directly to ADHD is a bit disingenuous. As author Caitlin Dewey points out in her piece for the Post, “The Web certainly may cause ADHD-like symptoms, and it could exacerbate the disorder in children and adults who suffer from it already … but there’s no evidence that Internet use could actually cause an otherwise healthy person to develop the disorder. After all, ADHD is believed to have a range of underlying genetic causes, things you couldn’t just ‘catch’ from a computer screen.” What many are actually alluding to when they discuss such distractibility is not ADHD, but multitasking, which years of brain <a href="http://www.apa.org/research/action/multitask.aspx">research</a> now shows to be an impossibility. No matter how good we think we are at multitasking, what we are actually doing is task-switching. Perhaps we don’t notice because we do it so rapidly, but each and every time our brain has to make the switch between tasks, however small, it takes a toll on our productivity. We are drawn to the beep, buzz, alert, or notification that forces the change in focus, and we lose track of where we are because we haven't actually seen a single task through to the end. Hence we can feel like we are doing a lot of things but accomplishing nothing at the same time. Sound familiar?<br /><br />As for the realities of ADHD and technology, parents are often baffled that their child can’t sit still long enough to read a book or complete a project, but put them in front a videogame and they can play for hours. There are multiple factors at work here. <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/04/459990844/were-thinking-about-adhd-all-wrong-says-a-top-pediatrician">Dr. Dimitri Christakis</a>, professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington and the director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Children's Hospital in Seattle, urges us to think about ADHD differently than we currently do, not in terms of who can and cannot pay attention, but as a spectrum of “attentional capacity.” All of us exist somewhere on this continuum, and finding out what works for each of us is critical. The ADHD brain works differently. As <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dalearcher/2015/06/25/technology-makes-adhd-better-not-worse-part-i/#64ddcdb57e3d">Dr. Dale Archer</a> puts it, “The chaotic effect of competing sources of information that can distract and derail others is like manna to an ADHDer, for whom these extreme states actually boost a feel-good response in the brain. It’s why many with ADHD appear so focused and functional in the middle of a maelstrom.” That super-focused videogame player? The stimuli of the game, and the rapid nature of your choices leading to immediate rewards, is exactly what an ADHD brain craves, he says. So in this case, the child’s attentional capacity for the game is greater than it might be for other activities that do not offer similar rewards. Who wouldn’t choose the game in those circumstances?<br /><br />There is still cause for concern, however, in that too much time/attention devoted to a certain task can be a problem. Discussing the common misconception that people with ADHD simply cannot pay attention, <a href="http://www.drhallowell.com/">Dr. Ned Hallowell</a>, one of the country’s leading experts on ADHD, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/03/02/if-you-can-pay-attention-you-do-not-have-adhd-and-9-other-misperceptions-about-the-disorder/">puts it this way</a>: “People with ADHD can super-focus at times and pay better attention than anyone. When what they are doing interests them they often go into a state of hyper-focus, such that they lose track of the passage of time or their biological needs and drives. It is when they are not interested that their minds wander. But their minds do not go empty, which is why attention deficit is such a misnomer. In ADHD attention wanders, but it never disappears.”<br /><br />So how does a family manage their use of technology and screen time, whether ADHD is present in the home or not? For all of us to maximize our attentional capacity, we need to critically look at how we are spending our time and seek the right balance. For the parent who feels like Snapchat and Instagram have “stolen” their child from them, this means some pretty critical thinking needs to occur about how, when, and why your child has access to social media. Add adolescence and hormones to the mix and we really have a lot to learn!<br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EYoScM0Kssc/Vx_uK1FACYI/AAAAAAAAJBs/iLC2IO-Wd8AZoOCd8q1-t6ueDchn7MdqgCLcB/s1600/screenagers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="107" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EYoScM0Kssc/Vx_uK1FACYI/AAAAAAAAJBs/iLC2IO-Wd8AZoOCd8q1-t6ueDchn7MdqgCLcB/s200/screenagers.jpg" width="200" /></a>We invite you to join us at Charles Wright Academy on May 18 at 6:30pm in the Middle School Commons for a FREE screening of the documentary <a href="http://www.screenagersmovie.com/">Screenagers</a>. Sponsored by our Parent Association, and supported by our local chapter of CHADD, this film offers us a chance to get together and discuss reasonable family guidelines and limits as we examine the impact of technology on our lives. We encourage you to bring your tween/teen(s) with you to watch the film! (10+) Technology coordinator <a href="http://www.charleswright.org/upper-school-9-to-12/faculty/holly-gerla/">Holly Gerla</a>, middle school librarian <a href="http://www.charleswright.org/middle-school-6-to-8/faculty/samantha-harris/">Sam Harris</a>, and parent coach <a href="http://evolving-parents.com/">Emily McMason</a>, who hosted January’s <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/hollylara/raising-kids-in-a-digital-world-2016">Raising Kids in the Digital World</a> workshop, will lead the post-film discussion. We look forward to seeing you!</div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/screenagers-growing-up-in-the-digital-age-tickets-23932760531" target="_blank">RSVP HERE</a></span><br /><br /></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-36706823584338505272016-04-13T09:20:00.001-07:002016-04-13T09:22:02.585-07:00Washington Elementary PTA Meeting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wjYwjpf-QY/Vw5yGr48kzI/AAAAAAAAJBM/QoZ0WXWW_NkzcUkquKl-aV5l4ogq7SO8ACLcB/s1600/static1.squarespace.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wjYwjpf-QY/Vw5yGr48kzI/AAAAAAAAJBM/QoZ0WXWW_NkzcUkquKl-aV5l4ogq7SO8ACLcB/s1600/static1.squarespace.png" /></a></div>Thanks to the Washington Elementary PTA for inviting us to speak at your meeting last night! Embedded below is our side presentation, and lots of other links. Please let us know if there are further resources we can help you find!<br /><br />Here's just one to get you started...a very popular question asked last night. <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/cell-phone-parenting/whats-the-right-age-to-get-my-kid-a-cell-phone" target="_blank">What's the right age to get my kid a cell phone?</a>&nbsp;As we discussed, each kid and each family's guidelines are different, but use your village to get feedback! More important than their age is their maturity level, and whether or not you think they can handle the responsibility.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="389" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1WXXDzbumCNeuGUfXqClvNo8xBB1KcSe93eUnTfv800Q/embed?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="480"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmQvlwKylg/Vs3YdnSo43I/AAAAAAAAI88/rcipHM8dI7I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-02-24%2Bat%2B8.20.47%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #226bbc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="" border="0" data-pin-nopin="true" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmQvlwKylg/Vs3YdnSo43I/AAAAAAAAI88/rcipHM8dI7I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-02-24%2Bat%2B8.20.47%2BAM.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" title="" /></a></div><br /><br />Emily McMason -&nbsp;<a href="http://www.evolving-parents.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">evolving parents</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1SPUwj8TMisZ93qbfv6r69kz7bZ_QQle2aqCk8SUJBh8/edit" style="line-height: normal;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Emily's Sample Rules</span></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; margin-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/06/461920593/kids-and-screen-time-a-peek-at-upcoming-guidance?utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;utm_term=nprnews&amp;utm_content=20160106" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Kids and Screen Time: A Peek at Upcoming Guidance</a>&nbsp;(NPR 1/6/2016)<br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzuEUQFZAq0/Vs3a0RTQ5MI/AAAAAAAAI9I/Ley0v1OhfrI/s1600/common-sense-for-web.jpg" style="color: #226bbc; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" data-pin-nopin="true" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzuEUQFZAq0/Vs3a0RTQ5MI/AAAAAAAAI9I/Ley0v1OhfrI/s320/common-sense-for-web.jpg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" /></a></div><br style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;" /><a href="http://commonsensemedia.org/" style="background-color: white; color: #226bbc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">Common Sense Media</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: &quot;arial&quot; , &quot;tahoma&quot; , &quot;helvetica&quot; , &quot;freesans&quot; , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">&nbsp;-&nbsp;</span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/commonsensemedia" style="background-color: white; color: #226bbc; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">visit the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent-concerns" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Parent Concerns</a>&nbsp;section</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-infographic" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Common Sense Census Infographic</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/family_media_agreements_k-12.pdf" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">media use guidelines for K-5, 6-9, 9-12</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/customizable_device_contract.pdf" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">customizable device contract</a></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZX2jfBQGMVA/Vs3dXoDbHlI/AAAAAAAAI9Y/Om0L_dlp3-8/s1600/2D0857140DAB40EB949A4F45E90841D0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #226bbc; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDWUUEsIk44/Vs3bAA_bFVI/AAAAAAAAI9M/dbKlzhE9QJQ/s320/navigation__branding.png" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; border: 1px solid rgb(238, 238, 238); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px;" /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fosi.org/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Family Online Safety Institute</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamOnlineSafety" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pewresearch" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Facebook</a></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #292929; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pewresearch" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;"><br /></a>Browser add-ons or extensions:<br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://adblockplus.org/en/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">AdBlock Plus</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://clea.nr/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">A Clea.nr Internet</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/simple-profanity-filter/ackkocjhcalcpgpfjcoinogdejibgbho/details" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Simple Profanity Filter</a>&nbsp;(for Chrome)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.ghostery.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Ghostery</a>&nbsp;(identify and block trackers)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/lightbeam/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Lightbeam</a>&nbsp;(for Firefox)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;"><a href="https://www.mywot.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">https://www.mywot.com/</a>&nbsp;(Web of Trust)&nbsp;</li></ul><br />Safer Search engines:<br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Duck, Duck Go (<a href="https://duckduckgo.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">duckduckgo.com</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">KidRex (<a href="http://www.kidrex.org/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">kidrex.org</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">KidzSearch (<a href="http://www.kidzsearch.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">kidzsearch.com</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">SafeSearchKids (<a href="http://www.safesearchkids.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">safesearchkids.com</a>)</li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">GoGooligans (<a href="http://www.gogooligans.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">gogooligans.com</a>)</li></ul><br />Adolescent Development:<br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Julie Metzger, RN, MN and Robert Lehman, MD,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.greatconversations.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Great Conversations</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Robin Wright,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thewrightconversations.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">The Wright Conversations</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Amy Lang,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Birds + Bees + Kids</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Jo Langford,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.beheroes.net/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Be Heroes</a></li></ul><br />Books:<br /><ul style="line-height: 1.4; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;"><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Bazelon, Emily -&nbsp;<a href="http://emilybazelon.com/books/sticks-and-stones/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">boyd, danah -&nbsp;<a href="http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Damour, Lisa PhD -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.drlisadamour.com/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions Into Adulthood</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Englander, Elizabeth -&nbsp;<a href="http://hepg.org/hep-home/books/bullying-and-cyberbullying" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Bullying and Cyberbullying: What Every Educator Needs to Know</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">James, Carrie -&nbsp;<a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/disconnected" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Disconnected: Youth, New Media, and the Ethics Gap</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Jensen, Frances E. MD -&nbsp;<a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/28/381622350/why-teens-are-impulsive-addiction-prone-and-should-protect-their-brains" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Sales, Nancy Jo - <a href="http://www.nancyjosales.com/books/" target="_blank">American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Lives of Teenage Girls</a></li><li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Wiseman, Rosalind -&nbsp;<a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" style="color: #226bbc; text-decoration: none;">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World</a></li></ul></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-9587937875939780192016-03-24T08:37:00.000-07:002016-04-28T08:44:16.669-07:00The Big Three: Cyberbullying, Sexting, and Porn with Jo Langford of BeHeroes.net<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.beheroes.net/communities/2/004/011/187/282//images/4617608909_216x340.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.beheroes.net/communities/2/004/011/187/282//images/4617608909_216x340.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jo's latest book. <br />Girl version coming May 2016!</td></tr></tbody></table>Last night I traveled to <a href="http://www.varsanetwork.org/cyberbullying-sexting-porn/" target="_blank">Vashon Island</a> to hear <a href="http://www.beheroes.net/" target="_blank">Jo Langford, MA</a>,&nbsp;a <a href="http://www.beheroes.net/about-me/4569671904" target="_blank">sex educator and Seattle therapist</a>,&nbsp;speak. I've been following Jo's work ever since I heard Amy Lang (of <a href="http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/" target="_blank">Birds + Bees + Kids</a>) speak at our school two years ago. If you've read our blog before, you know we have spent a fair amount of time discussing issues of <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-5-merida-makeover.html" target="_blank">gender</a> identity, stereotypes, and roles, particularly as these things play out online. Jo has&nbsp;been my go to resource for information about boys since I bought his book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sex-EDcylopedia-Comprehensive-Healthy-Sexuality/dp/1610983033" target="_blank">The Sex EdCyclopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to Healthy Sexuality, For the Modern, Male Teen</a>, at Amy's workshop. He has since written another book,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.beheroes.net/the-book/4569679658" target="_blank">Spare Me the Talk! A Guy's Guide to Sex, Relationships, and Growing Up</a>, that is brilliant, and I am waiting patiently for the girl version to come out in May so I can have one more resource in my home that is practical and helpful for my kids. &nbsp;In the meantime, I leave his books lying around for my daughters to read, in the hopes their curiosity will prompt them to learn more about the opposite gender, and hopefully something about themselves in the process. In addition to his published work, Jo has a collection of resources available on his website that include detailed and lengthy <a href="http://www.beheroes.net/free-downloads/4573559550" target="_blank">templates for "contracts"</a> that he recommends for families as they work to establish boundaries, rules, and guidelines for technology use. These range from getting your first smart phone, to managing online gaming, substance abuse, and sexual activity.<br /><br />Jo's style is direct, engaging, and unflinchingly honest. For example, as we listened to him talk about sexting, he stated quite simply, "It's only sexting when all parties involved are over 18." Otherwise? In the <a href="http://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-child-pornography-laws.html" target="_blank">state of Washington</a> it's child pornography. Plain and simple. Furthermore, as he addressed the behavior behind nude selfies and the exchange of images (sometimes just of body parts) he made three points.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">1. Sending "dick pics" is a revolting way to flirt.<br />2. Sexting feeds into an already negative, pornified media cycle.<br />3. It's a <a href="http://statelaws.findlaw.com/washington-law/washington-child-pornography-laws.html" target="_blank">felony</a>.</blockquote>Can't get much clearer than that. And that's just one example of Jo's straight talk. He's awesome.<br /><br />When we talk about sexting in my classes, &nbsp;I address with students not only the legal consequences of such behavior (during Technology and the Law week), but it resurfaces when discussing the impact of technology on our health, both physical and emotional. Sexting is a complicated topic for adolescents, but the simple truth is that, at least where we live, it is illegal, and the penalties are harsh because it falls under the label of child pornography. Some states have written&nbsp;<a href="http://cyberbullying.org/state_sexting_laws.pdf" target="_blank">laws specific to sexting</a> to remove it from felony status, particularly if it is consensual (see <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/feb/26/new-mexico-legalizes-teen-sexting" target="_blank">New Mexico</a>). If you are wondering how to talk about it with your child, you can bring it up in the context of a story from the <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/why-kids-sext/380798/" target="_blank">news</a>, or you can read more in depth the work of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/07/stop-demonizing-teen-sexting-in-most-cases-its-completely-harmless/" target="_blank">Dr. Elizabeth Englander</a>, who has conducted some extensive studies on this growing phenomenon. In terms of harm, Dr. Englander says that what should be of greatest concern to us is <b><i>coerced</i></b> sexting. "Overall, about two-thirds of the teens in my research studies report that they were pressured or coerced into sexting at least some of the time," she says. And the consequences for those who did it under pressure were more significant than for those who engaged in the activity willingly.<br /><br />But back to Jo! The bulk of the presentation was about social media, and a run down of the current popular apps among teens, which I have linked below to their reviews on <a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a>. Jo categorizes them as "good, bad, and ugly" based on the following criteria:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">GOOD - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/mobile/" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/download?lang=en" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/instagram" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. These are good apps for kids to "cut their teeth" in social media, so to speak. Their online persona should look a lot like their real life persona. Likened to a "dinner party," in these apps kids can look around and figure out the rules and how to behave (don't throw food, don't shout at each other, be polite). But as with all apps/services, kids should know that what they post lasts a loooooong time and is not necessarily private. Furthermore, kids should be "social networking" in the real world, too, not just behind a screen all the time.</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gkbHfnWZMUs/VyEdKLi_7dI/AAAAAAAAJCY/lkr17uFmEYcovBJY_Ugz5f4Dp0NrA9iPgCLcB/s1600/Good_apps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="65" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gkbHfnWZMUs/VyEdKLi_7dI/AAAAAAAAJCY/lkr17uFmEYcovBJY_Ugz5f4Dp0NrA9iPgCLcB/s200/Good_apps.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Good"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">BAD - <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/snapchat" target="_blank">Snapchat</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/burn-note" target="_blank">Burn Note</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/private-photo-calculator-hide/id571206791?mt=8" target="_blank">Calculator%</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/line" target="_blank">Line</a>. These apps are in the bad category because they have the potential to dismantle self-esteem and put kids at risk for humiliation, bullying, and legal issues. Snapchat, which has recently overtaken Twitter as the <a href="http://mwpartners.com/snapchat-is-now-the-third-most-popular-social-network-among-millennials/" target="_blank">third most popular app</a> (behind Facebook and Instagram), is widely used among the teen population. While it's fun and entertaining, and to many seemingly harmless, Jo says it perpetuates a false sense of security. Promising that messages "disappear" after a set amount of time, Snapchat lulls kids into thinking there are no consequences to sharing whatever they might choose to Snap. In fact, you lose control over all content once you send it. He told us that 8 of his last 10 clients have ended up in his office in trouble because of Snapchat. How are people supposed to behave in these apps? It's not entirely clear based on your own use of and interaction with the app, and this can prove confusing to kids. You may have recently heard about the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/private-photo-calculator-hide/id571206791?mt=8" target="_blank">Calculator% app</a>, or another called <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/private-photo-vault-keep-pictures+videos/id417571834?mt=8" target="_blank">Photo Vault</a>, in conjunction with a "sexting scandal" in <a href="http://www.koaa.com/story/30452175/parents-learn-disturbing-details-into-canon-city-sexting-scandal" target="_blank">Canon City, Colorado</a>. The app allows you to effectively hide explicit photos behind an icon that innocently looks like a calculator. Jo's point about this was, "if you are using this app to hide what you are doing, you aren't using the Internet like a grown up."</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fz5kkCmn-1U/VyEdUiGCB0I/AAAAAAAAJCc/XxQQ5vNeiLcy3IXxYto2VloGjPGWFYDAwCLcB/s1600/Bad_apps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="82" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Fz5kkCmn-1U/VyEdUiGCB0I/AAAAAAAAJCc/XxQQ5vNeiLcy3IXxYto2VloGjPGWFYDAwCLcB/s320/Bad_apps.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bad"</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">UGLY - <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/kik-messenger" target="_blank">Kik</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/meetme" target="_blank">Meet Me</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/askfm">Ask.fm</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/website-reviews/omegle">Omegle</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/yik-yak" target="_blank">Yik Yak</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/burnbook" target="_blank">Burn Book</a>, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/after-school-funny-anonymous-school-news-for-confessions-compliments" target="_blank">After School</a>. Apps in this category can encourage kids to mask their identity, promote cruel behavior, encourage kids to lie, break the law, or make it easy to be located by people they don't know. We encourage you to read the reviews and dig a bit deeper into these apps so you can determine your own comfort level. One of Jo's comments that particularly resonated with me as a consumer and a parent was this: "Using those apps gives your time, energy, and money to developers who encourage irresponsible behavior, who take take advantage of stupid people, and who support the predators who prey on them." As an educator, I have taken the time to actually install and experiment with a few of them, and I can honestly say, EWWWWW. Definitely a lot of potential for harm and hurt feelings, at the very least. Sometimes, the danger is much greater. Like Calculator% above, Kik has recently been in the <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kik-messenger-app-scrutinized-following-13-year-olds-death/" target="_blank">headlines</a> after the murder of a 13 year old girl, who was using the app to communicate with her 18 year old "boyfriend," a suspect in her death.</blockquote><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-44S6hU_EZX0/VyEemFZS6wI/AAAAAAAAJCs/ZkA2xChfM2Ukn9atSj87WACkKvM9obuowCLcB/s1600/Ugly_apps.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="61" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-44S6hU_EZX0/VyEemFZS6wI/AAAAAAAAJCs/ZkA2xChfM2Ukn9atSj87WACkKvM9obuowCLcB/s400/Ugly_apps.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Ugly"</td></tr></tbody></table>Obviously an app isn't solely to blame for behavior, and anything can be used for good or bad, but for adolescents who do not have their adult brain yet, the dangers and drawbacks of anonymity, location services, and oversharing are not immediately obvious. Connecting with strangers online can feel exhilarating and grown up. Imagine the cool things you may learn--and can then tell your friends. Even for a "good" app like Instagram, teens may be very careful about what they share as part of their digital footprint, but if they choose to follow a variety of accounts that exploit, stereotype, and insult all in the name of humor (no shortage of those), I believe there is a cumulative impact of looking at all that negativity on a constant basis. Certain behaviors get "normalized" to the point where kids stop questioning the morality of the content and perhaps even their own choices.<br /><br />So here are just a few other tidbits from Jo I jotted in my notes because they were new to me, or new ways of thinking about familiar issues:<br /><br />CYBERBULLYING. As far as cyberbullying goes, kids need to know that it happens. Somebody is going to be a jerk online...and this can even happen accidentally sometimes. Jokes aren't funny to everyone all the time, and lines are easily crossed. When it happens to you, don't reciprocate, don't stay silent, and block or report the behavior. To prepare for the online jerks of the world, learn how to give constructive criticism and show others how its done. We are capable of real dialog without snarkiness and hurt feelings, but we need to practice. Jo writes on his <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jo.langford.752" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">In this digital age, kids need to know how to give proper, legitimate constructive criticism by age 12, now...<br />Concepts like:<br /><ul><li>Only jump in and say something if it really, really, really matters to you.</li><li>Before you jump in, consider whether or not your opinion is going to change anyone’s mind.</li><li>When you jump in, keep it simple. Focus on the words and behavior.</li><li>Keep it about The Thing, not the other person - Start off with “I” (like “I think the thing … ” or “I believe the issue … ”) not “you.”</li><li>Explain why you disagree (do your homework first).</li><li>Don’t just complain – contribute something positive to help move the conversation forward; keep it factual, mature, polite…</li><li>And don’t argue with the stupid or crazy, it never helps.</li></ul></blockquote>PORN. The average age of exposure is about 9 or 10 years old. [If you really have no idea how easy it is to come across "inappropriate content" try an image search for "nude" to see how graphic the results are -- this is me talking, not Jo. Trust me, you won't be looking at classic Renaissance paintings.] As a mother of teenage daughters, I have big concerns when it comes to porn and what kids are actually learning about healthy sexuality. In future posts, I plan to cover the pile of books I've been working my way through, including <a href="https://www.drlisadamour.com/" target="_blank">Untangled</a>, by Lisa Damour, <a href="http://www.nancyjosales.com/books/" target="_blank">American Girls</a> by Nancy Jo Sales, and <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/03/29/472211301/girls-sex-and-the-importance-of-talking-to-young-women-about-pleasure" target="_blank">Girls &amp; Sex</a> by Peggy Orenstein. Stand by...<br /><br />As I conclude, my education continues as I look for ways to provide healthy sex education for kids to counter that which they might be learning from pornography or their other online exploits. Jo Langford is one the best resources I have found. If you have the opportunity to hear him in person (or even via webinar), GO. Follow him on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jo.langford.752" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, visit his <a href="http://www.beheroes.net/" target="_blank">website</a>, make a point to know his name and his work. It has been my pleasure to work with some amazing educators over the last few years, many that are female. I've been hoping for a male voice, though, not because I think I will learn more or better, but because a different perspective is helpful for me. As I have told my students (<a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/02/gender-issues-part-1.html" target="_blank">and you</a>) many times, I'm female, in a family of females, raising females. Not that there's anything wrong with that...but other points of view help!<br /><br />UPDATE, April 25: Jo writes...<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-bottom: 6px; margin-top: 6px;">My new book, Spare Me ‘The Talk’!” THE GIRL VERSION! is coming out next month.<br /><a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parentmap-lecture-series-jo-langford-ma-one-click-away-tickets-19794282231?ref=ebtn" target="_blank">Seattle Children’s Hospital is hosting me (as part of ParentMap’s 2016 Lecture Series) on May 24th from 7-9pm.</a>&nbsp;It will be a talk regarding media trends and safety for parents of t/weens, as well as the book launch for the new book.&nbsp;There will be new/ updated info of topics if you have seen me speak in the past around the most popular social networking apps kids are using, as well as some stats and tips around Sexting, Cyberbullying and Pornography.&nbsp;Please share with anyone you think might benefit/ be interested, and come celebrate with me!<br />Jo Langford</blockquote>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-72940584011324313372016-02-24T08:45:00.002-08:002016-02-24T08:54:12.218-08:00Raising Kids in a Digital World 2016 - Oasis Youth Center<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.oasisyouthcenter.org/_/rsrc/1435093822508/config/customLogo.gif?revision=6" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.oasisyouthcenter.org/_/rsrc/1435093822508/config/customLogo.gif?revision=6" height="94" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.oasisyouthcenter.org/" target="_blank">Tacoma's Oasis</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Last night, Sam, Emily, and I had the privilege of taking our show "on the road" and sitting down for a discussion with parents in the Project 13! group at Tacoma's Oasis Youth Center. Thank you to all for your enthusiastic participation! Whether you were able to come or not, please find our slides below and links directly to many of our resources (which can also be downloaded as a complete document <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/13TY5QcSr-J4oXfVpvQuF0tnQ8YN-U_rJBAf-4xvyPCI/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">HERE</a>).<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="485" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/key/rwHDkcYOhMIxDa" style="border-width: 1px; border: 1px solid #ccc; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="595"> </iframe> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/hollylara/raising-kids-in-a-digital-world-oasis-youth-center-2016" target="_blank" title="Raising Kids in a Digital World - Oasis Youth Center 2016">Raising Kids in a Digital World - Oasis Youth Center 2016</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="https://www.slideshare.net/hollylara" target="_blank">Holly Gerla</a></strong> <br /><br /><h2>Other Resources</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmQvlwKylg/Vs3YdnSo43I/AAAAAAAAI88/rcipHM8dI7I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-02-24%2Bat%2B8.20.47%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dAmQvlwKylg/Vs3YdnSo43I/AAAAAAAAI88/rcipHM8dI7I/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-02-24%2Bat%2B8.20.47%2BAM.png" title="" /></a></div><br /><br />Emily McMason - <a href="http://www.evolving-parents.com/" target="_blank">evolving parents</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/01/06/461920593/kids-and-screen-time-a-peek-at-upcoming-guidance?utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;utm_term=nprnews&amp;utm_content=20160106">Kids and Screen Time: A Peek at Upcoming Guidance</a> (NPR 1/6/2016)<br /><br /><a href="https://www.trevorspace.org/">TrevorSpace</a> Social network for LGBTQ youth ages 13 - 24<br /><br /><a href="http://www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/Out%20Online%20FINAL.pdf">Out Online: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth on the Internet</a> (GLSEN, 2013)<br /><br /><a href="http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/06/complete-guide-to-anonymous-apps.html">The Complete Guide to Anonymous Apps</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.gaggle.net/top-social-networking-sites-and-apps-kids-use/">Top Social Networks &amp; Apps Your Kids Use</a></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzuEUQFZAq0/Vs3a0RTQ5MI/AAAAAAAAI9I/Ley0v1OhfrI/s1600/common-sense-for-web.jpg"><img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JzuEUQFZAq0/Vs3a0RTQ5MI/AAAAAAAAI9I/Ley0v1OhfrI/s320/common-sense-for-web.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://commonsensemedia.org/">Common Sense Media</a> - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/commonsensemedia">Facebook</a><br /><div><ul><li>visit the <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent-concerns">Parent Concerns</a> section</li><li><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-infographic">Common Sense Census Infographic</a></li><li><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/family_media_agreements_k-12.pdf">media use guidelines for K-5, 6-9, 9-12</a></li><li><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/connecting_families/customizable_device_contract.pdf">customizable device contract</a></li></ul></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZX2jfBQGMVA/Vs3dXoDbHlI/AAAAAAAAI9Y/Om0L_dlp3-8/s1600/2D0857140DAB40EB949A4F45E90841D0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><div><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sDWUUEsIk44/Vs3bAA_bFVI/AAAAAAAAI9M/dbKlzhE9QJQ/s320/navigation__branding.png" /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.fosi.org/">Family Online Safety Institute</a> - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FamOnlineSafety">Facebook</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/">Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project</a> - <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pewresearch">Facebook</a><br /><ul><li><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/01/teens-technology-and-romantic-relationships/">Teens, Technology, and Romantic Relationships</a></li><li><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/06/teens-technology-and-friendships/">Teens, Technology, and Friendships</a></li></ul><br />Browser add-ons or extensions:<br /><ul><li><a href="https://adblockplus.org/en/">AdBlock Plus</a></li><li><a href="http://clea.nr/">A Clea.nr Internet</a></li><li><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/simple-profanity-filter/ackkocjhcalcpgpfjcoinogdejibgbho/details">Simple Profanity Filter</a> (for Chrome)</li><li><a href="http://www.ghostery.com/">Ghostery</a> (identify and block trackers)</li><li><a href="http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/lightbeam/">Lightbeam</a> (for Firefox)</li><li><a href="https://www.mywot.com/">https://www.mywot.com/</a> (Web of Trust)&nbsp;</li></ul><br />Safer Search engines:<br /><ul><li>Duck, Duck Go (<a href="https://duckduckgo.com/">duckduckgo.com</a>)</li><li>KidRex (<a href="http://www.kidrex.org/">kidrex.org</a>)</li><li>KidzSearch (<a href="http://www.kidzsearch.com/">kidzsearch.com</a>)</li><li>SafeSearchKids (<a href="http://www.safesearchkids.com/">safesearchkids.com</a>)</li><li>GoGooligans (<a href="http://www.gogooligans.com/">gogooligans.com</a>)</li></ul><br />Adolescent Development:<br /><ul><li>Julie Metzger, RN, MN and Robert Lehman, MD, <a href="http://www.greatconversations.com/">Great Conversations</a> </li><li>Robin Wright, <a href="http://www.thewrightconversations.com/">The Wright Conversations</a></li><li>Amy Lang, <a href="http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/">Birds + Bees + Kids</a></li><li>Jo Langford, <a href="http://www.beheroes.net/">Be Heroes</a></li></ul><br />Books:<br /><ul><li>Bazelon, Emily - <a href="http://emilybazelon.com/books/sticks-and-stones/">Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy</a></li><li>boyd, danah - <a href="http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/">It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens</a></li><li>Damour, Lisa PhD - <a href="https://www.drlisadamour.com/">Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions Into Adulthood</a></li><li>Englander, Elizabeth - <a href="http://hepg.org/hep-home/books/bullying-and-cyberbullying">Bullying and Cyberbullying: What Every Educator Needs to Know</a></li><li>James, Carrie - <a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/disconnected">Disconnected: Youth, New Media, and the Ethics Gap</a></li><li>Jensen, Frances E. MD - <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/28/381622350/why-teens-are-impulsive-addiction-prone-and-should-protect-their-brains">The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults</a></li><li>Wiseman, Rosalind - <a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World</a></li></ul></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-74020455548130349562016-01-28T15:12:00.002-08:002016-01-28T15:13:50.227-08:00The Common Sense Census<b id="docs-internal-guid-c7d4e487-8a7b-ba03-9f02-19fcde3e0776" style="font-weight: normal;"></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><b id="docs-internal-guid-c7d4e487-8a7b-ba03-9f02-19fcde3e0776" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: &quot;arial&quot;; font-size: 14.666666666666666px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twxp0XBFUH0/VqqgCKNqUqI/AAAAAAAAI8Y/B3peY6qrstU/s1600/CS_MediaCensusInfo_complete.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-twxp0XBFUH0/VqqgCKNqUqI/AAAAAAAAI8Y/B3peY6qrstU/s1600/CS_MediaCensusInfo_complete.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens-infographic" target="_blank">Common Sense Census Infographic</a></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span id="goog_1523093924"></span><span id="goog_1523093925"></span>also posted at <a href="http://www.charleswright.org/teaching-technology-raising-kids-in-a-digital-world/">CharlesWright.org</a></i>&nbsp;</span><br /><br />We love data! Analyzing trends and figuring out what’s going on in the digital lives of our kids involves asking a lot of questions, reading plenty of books and articles, and looking at vast collections of numbers. What’s especially tricky to dissect, however, is what all the numbers mean when the pace of technological change is so rapid. For example, If you’ve come to our workshops any time in the last 5 years, you know we’ve been waiting for current data to compare to the <a href="http://kff.org/other/event/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of/">Kaiser Family Foundation’s 2010 study</a> that shows kids spend, on average, 7 hours and 38 minutes with entertainment media daily. Well guess what didn’t exist in when the Kaiser study was published? Instagram (launched October 2010) and Snapchat (released September 2011) are now two of the most popular social media apps among teens. Minecraft was just a baby in 2010, but has exploded in popularity, along with other games, since then. How do these new contenders vie for kids’ attention and how might they impact media consumption hours?<br /><br />This past November, <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/">Common Sense Media</a> released the <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/research/the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-tweens-and-teens">Common Sense Census</a>, a comprehensive report on media use by teens and tweens. According to this new report, media time is now 9 hours a day for teens (6 hours for tweens). And these numbers do NOT include homework time! So how does a family set reasonable limits and support kids in developing responsible and healthy habits when it comes to their use of media and technology? CSM recommends four tips in <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/blog/the-new-guide-to-managing-media-for-tweens-and-teens">The New Guide to Managing Media for Tweens and Teens</a>:<br /><ol><li>set limits on screens of all sizes</li><li>promote creative, responsible consumption, not passive use</li><li>understand the myth of multitasking</li><li>set a good example!</li></ol>We will be covering all this and more at our annual workshop on January 28th. And if your child is not yet a tween or teen? Let’s discuss young kids’ media and tech use and proactively set the stage for what is to come. We have much to share, and plenty of resources to take with you as your family works together to build, test, revise, and strengthen the guidelines, values, and expectations you want to promote. We look forward to seeing you!Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-21807489224853956582015-05-01T15:00:00.000-07:002015-11-17T18:55:26.548-08:00FOMO and the "Cellphone Bypass"<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GOYp_X2R4-Q/Vkvn8232bII/AAAAAAAAI7M/YpS7HuoA-ro/s640/blogger-image-164204966.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-GOYp_X2R4-Q/Vkvn8232bII/AAAAAAAAI7M/YpS7HuoA-ro/s640/blogger-image-164204966.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div>I've had a revelation! In the past several weeks, since our parent workshop, I've been mulling over this idea of what I have come to call the "cellphone bypass." When our children have the means to communicate directly with each other (through their phones or other personal devices), home phones are pretty irrelevant. Many people don't even have a common family phone line any more! So no longer is there a person calling your house, asking to speak to an adult about an upcoming event, or even asking a child directly about something while they are on the phone in a common space where the parental units are likely to overhear the conversation and perhaps ask, "What's going on? Is this something I should know about?" Nothing earth-shattering in this realization, obviously, but I'm having a personal epiphany here...indulge me.<br><br>Until today, I have been considering the "bypass" mostly from the perspective of the grumpy mom who is the last to find out when her kids are planning something that no one has bothered to tell her about, or give her any details that she considers ESSENTIAL to life planning. And as the keeper of the family calendar, and as the Director of Driving Operations, I need to be informed. Gone are the days when invitations to parties arrived by mail, when calls came to the house and adults exchanged information. In many cases, kids are attempting to just "handle it" on their own because they can easily talk to each other through their individual devices. I hope I'm not the only parent who finds this annoying a lot of the time.<br><br>Today, however, I had a different thought about it. Adults perpetually lament teens' attachment to their phones ("Can you put that DOWN for a few minutes, please?") and the myriad drawbacks we see to their constant connection to others through a screen. The term FOMO, Fear of Missing Out, is an ailment afflicting people everywhere who stay constantly connected because they don't want to miss anything!<div><br></div><div>Well guess what? I have it. Not the kind that makes me want to check my own phone constantly, because I can take it or leave it, and I'm often quite happy to leave it. But I have the kind of FOMO that resents the cell phone bypass because it cuts me out of the process. I'm out of the loop. Plans are getting made without me. I'm essential to fulfilling those commitments and making sure the plans actually happen, but I don't get brought in until late in the process. And I bluster and complain and whine about it...but what I really feel?&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A little sad, if I'm honest.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>I still want to be involved and included. A part of my kids' lives. The way I used to be when they were little and everything went through me first. ACK! When did I become this person?</div><div><br></div><div>#FOMO #thestruggleisreal</div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-76562046238801300482015-04-09T15:15:00.002-07:002015-04-09T17:41:58.195-07:00Parenting in a Digital World, 2015<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8EbGNju4SD8/VScb6Tsl2MI/AAAAAAAAI2E/08XvcHZEozg/s1600/8720604364_85c5931a14_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8EbGNju4SD8/VScb6Tsl2MI/AAAAAAAAI2E/08XvcHZEozg/s1600/8720604364_85c5931a14_z.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Photo by </span><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lupuca/" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Lucélia Ribeiro</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)</span></div></td></tr></tbody></table>Wow, it's been a while since we've written a post here! I suppose that speaks to how busy we have been this school year, but we are working to get back into a regular writing routine, I promise. There is so much to share and discuss!<br /><br />Last night we hosted our annual Parenting in a Digital World workshop, and I left feeling super energized and excited to tackle future initiatives, share more stories and research with the families in our community, and extremely grateful to the folks who came, participated, and contributed wholeheartedly to an excellent discussion of current issues facing our kids (and us, too!) with an eye toward creating a more pleasant, kind, and educational digital world. It was great!<br /><br />Here in one neat spot are all the resources from the presentation, as well as a few links to stories we brought up as examples, more statistics, and helpful sites you might want to check out. If you have any questions or requests for us to address particular topics, please leave a comment!<br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Our slide presentation:</span></h2><br /><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/46818914" width="476"></iframe><br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">SMAHRT Slide Presentation</span></h2><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="//www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/46832949" width="476"></iframe> <br /><h2></h2><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/16J_Z2H2I2qXywZebKLPXgRo2l4lY3u4_ZEKBpNkVe08/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Texting/Emoji Quiz</a>&nbsp;(just for fun)</span></h2><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></h2><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Resource List (<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vE5f02bD1BRPjfH8Uii4zK3yV-J_rnByBHvpZm1BF4E/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">downloadable document</a>)</span></h2><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: underline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Us:</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /><ul><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sam and Holly - Ethics 4 a Digital World - </span><a href="http://ethics4adigitalworld.org/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://ethics4adigitalworld.org</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emily - evolving parents - </span><a href="http://www.evolving-parents.com/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.evolving-parents.com</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nikita &amp; Team - SMAHRT - </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/SMAHRTeam" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.facebook.com/SMAHRTeam</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li></ul></div><b id="docs-internal-guid-5212a7e0-9ec3-fb3a-e10a-87b842def9e4" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Books:</span></div><ul style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bazelon, Emily - </span><a href="http://emilybazelon.com/books/sticks-and-stones/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">boyd, danah - </span><a href="http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Eliot, Lise - </span><a href="http://www.liseeliot.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pink Brain, Blue Brain</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Englander, Elizabeth - </span><a href="http://hepg.org/hep-home/books/bullying-and-cyberbullying" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bullying and Cyberbullying: What Every Educator Needs to Know</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">James, Carrie - &nbsp;</span><a href="http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/disconnected" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Disconnected: Youth, New Media, and the Ethics Gap</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jensen, Frances E. MD - </span><a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2015/01/28/381622350/why-teens-are-impulsive-addiction-prone-and-should-protect-their-brains" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Teenage Brain: A Neuroscientist's Survival Guide to Raising Adolescents and Young Adults</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Way, Niobe - </span><a href="http://niobeway.com/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection</span></a></div></li><li dir="ltr" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; list-style-type: disc; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Wiseman, Rosalind - </span><a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World</span></a></div></li></ul><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Online Resources:</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /><ul><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Common Sense Media - </span><a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/parent-concerns" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://www.commonsensemedia.org/</span></a></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Family Online Safety Institute - </span><a href="http://www.fosi.org/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.fosi.org/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Pew Internet &amp; American Life Project - </span><a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.pewinternet.org/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li></ul></div><b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Adolescent Development:</span></div><div dir="ltr" style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><br /><ul><li style="line-height: 1.38;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Julie Giesy Metzger, RN, MN and Robert Lehman, MD,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Great Conversations</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">: </span><a href="http://www.greatconversations.com/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.greatconversations.com/</span></a><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Amy Lang, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Birds + Bees + Kids </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- </span><a href="http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li><li><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jo Langford, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Be Heroes </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">- </span><a href="http://www.beheroes.net/" style="line-height: 1.38; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.beheroes.net/</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></li></ul></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Media Conversation Hooks</span></h2><ul><li>“what’s your favorite way to communicate with your friends?”</li><li>“what does _____ do that ______ doesn’t?”</li><li>(insert names of two favorite apps)&nbsp;</li><li>“what’s hard to say face-to- face that is easier to say online?”</li><li>“what did you learn about someone online that they have never told you face-to-face?”</li><li>“how do you show friends how you feel online? What happens if someone misunderstands it?”</li><li>“what topics are too important to you to talk about online?”</li><li>“what’s the funniest status update you’ve ever shared?”</li><li>“what do you wish you hadn’t shared?”(or, I once shared this, and I wish I hadn’t. has that ever happened to you?”)</li><li>“how do you help a friend who suddenly has a bunch of snarky comments on something they posted?”</li><li>“what do you do when you feel lonely?”</li><li>“wow. I just learned that college students prefer to learn from textbooks instead of e-books. Why do you think that is?”</li><li>“what app did you used to use that you don’t any more. What changed?”</li></ul><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Lindy West interviews her "troll" on NPR</span></h2><div><a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/545/if-you-dont-have-anything-nice-to-say-say-it-in-all-caps?act=1" target="_blank">Ask Not for Whom the Bell Trolls, It Trolls for Thee</a> (radio broadcast) or <a href="http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/545/transcript" target="_blank">Written Transcript</a></div><div><br /></div><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Other Statistics from Different Sources (<a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-CCzxglferNB2iKdu-rElAZKPIq7dNAsmAFr8HMg0t0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Document</a>)</span></h2><div>Linked <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-CCzxglferNB2iKdu-rElAZKPIq7dNAsmAFr8HMg0t0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a> is a list of stats compiled from two different sources. The first is from an upcoming documentary from The Representation Project called <a href="http://therepresentationproject.org/films/the-mask-you-live-in/" target="_blank">The Mask You Live In</a>&nbsp;(trailer below). I do a great deal of work in my Digital Citizenship class around stereotypes in the media, and more specifically we look at gender stereotypes, identity, and the roles kids assume in their interactions with others. I firmly believe that a huge part of the "trouble" kids get into with technology--their language, behavior, sexting, exploring that "inappropriate" content they all mention--could be avoided if we were willing to have more open conversations with them around sexuality, emotions, self-esteem, group think, fitting in, and all the angst-y things associated with their adolescence. To that end, we have looked deeply at the messages our society and the media send us about who we are supposed to be, act like, and look like, especially through the lenses of masculinity and femininity in our culture. &nbsp;After producing <a href="http://therepresentationproject.org/films/miss-representation/" target="_blank">Miss Representation</a>, about the portrayal of women in the media, filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom decided to look at the other side of things and try to answer the question, "What is happening to our boys?" There are some shocking and heartbreaking statistics that come out of her work and the research behind it. After sharing the film's trailer and a few of the statistics with students, I've had several boys express a keen interest in seeing the film and spending more time discussing the issues it raises. Charles Wright has purchased the rights to screen the film, and the accompanying curriculum, but we are still waiting to receive it. It should be here in May sometime! We will keep you posted. The film as it was originally produced is for a 16+ audience. The educational version we have purchased will include a PG-13 version that will be more appropriate for us to use. I plan to write a more thorough post on all that I have learned since I dove into "Boy World." Stay tuned...<br /><br />The second set of <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-CCzxglferNB2iKdu-rElAZKPIq7dNAsmAFr8HMg0t0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">stats</a> come from Dr. Elizabeth Englander, who hosted a webinar online that I recently attended, sponsored by the Digital Citizenship group at <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a> and <a href="http://edweb.net/">edWeb.net</a>. Her book is in the list of resources above. Great stuff from her team here!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hc45-ptHMxo/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hc45-ptHMxo?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div><br /></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-16359421044481326782015-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:002015-11-17T18:33:04.798-08:00Is it YOURS to Share?<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7alRFlaGv4Q/VO50fdAKCXI/AAAAAAAAIv4/e0807E7R2Ns/s1600/THINKY.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7alRFlaGv4Q/VO50fdAKCXI/AAAAAAAAIv4/e0807E7R2Ns/s1600/THINKY.png" height="320" width="222"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to make #THINKY happen</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br></td></tr></tbody></table>I'm constantly looking for ways to reinforce the concepts of Digital Citizenship in ways that my students can remember. A lot of that has to do with repeating myself over and over and over...and over. Twice.<div><br></div><div>When the "T.H.I.N.K." poster came along, it really resonated with kids and they "got it" when it came to understanding what they were supposed to think ABOUT. It actually inspired S.C.R.A.P. as our definition of digital citizenship, because we like acronyms, and they are easier to remember than big, long definitions. Now, thanks to this repetition, I can say the word SCRAP and kids know what I am talking about right away. (Well, most of the time.)</div><div><br></div><div>So some things have happened to make us revisit the concept of thinking before you (fill in the blank) when online. In the modern age of sharing, sharing, and sharing some more, we thought something was missing here. Something to do with consent, positive digital footprints, and being a good friend. We were asking ourselves quite often, "is this mine to share?" Is it my story to tell? Do I have permission to show others this photo? Wouldn't I appreciate being asked first before someone shares a picture of me? With that in mind, we decided to add a Y to our think posters. After all, this is an essential question to ask before we post anything, every bit as important as truth and kindness.</div><div><br></div><div>#thinky</div><div><br></div><div>Pass it on. Make it happen.</div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-67549183670420234802014-11-11T13:44:00.001-08:002014-11-11T13:47:38.542-08:00Social media can save the world (or at least do some good things)<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: right;"><b><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"I am instantly reminded how connected we can all be to each other's experiences and perspectives if we take the time to dig a little deeper than the superficial.</span>&nbsp;"</b></blockquote>It's easy to become cynical about the state of the Internet, media, and what sometimes feels like an infiltration of the digital world into every part of our lives. Anyone who spends anytime watching, reading, or participating in the digital world probably feels some amount of cynicism, disappointment, or even rage on a regular basis. I know I do. But lately, I've found it's a little easier to also feel joy and hope for humanity.<br /><br />This dose of positive energy comes to me in the form of <a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/" target="_blank">Humans of New York</a>. If you haven't heard of HONY, you should probably get on that right now (<a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/" target="_blank">tumblr</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/humansofny" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork" target="_blank">Facebook</a>). Brandon Stanton, the creator of Humans of New York, has taken a photography project started after a brief stint as a bond trader, and turned it into an example of what is good about the digital world. Almost every day, &nbsp;Brandon wanders the streets of New York City (and recently Jordan, Israel, Ukraine, Vietnam, Nepal and 7 more countries with the United Nations) and takes photographs of people he meets along the way. He also asks each person a few questions. &nbsp;Mr. Stanton's questions elicit amazing insight into each of his subjects. I am constantly surprised by the depth he can achieve from just a small amount of time with each man, woman, or child.<br /><br />Every day, after reading about politics, the state of the world, some crazy new social media tool that seems like a REALLY bad idea, and a few very uncivil comments, I check Twitter or Facebook and I happen upon a recent HONY post. I am instantly reminded how connected we can all be to each other's experiences and perspectives if we take the time to dig a little deeper than the superficial. What a fantastic daily lesson. Reading about someone else's path, even if it just a small part of a person's life, reminds me that everyone has a story: something amazing and something difficult in their past or present.<br /><br />The <a href="http://www.humansofnewyork.com/" target="_blank">Humans of New York</a> project exists in the digital realm, but it connects us all to each other outside of our digital lives. It's a great reminder that the driver in that other car, the clerk at the grocery store, a colleague at work, and even the politician we disagree with on the news, are also humans who have lives beyond our interactions with them. <br /><br />HONY is also a fantastic example for our young people. They regularly hear messages about Internet safety, managing their digital footprints, sexting, cyber-bullying, and otherwise avoiding making poor choices. What young people need to hear more about is how technology benefits the world and how they can contribute. &nbsp;Your child, or our student, could be a young Brandon Stanton. If we only discuss the digital world from a place of fear and apprehension, we'll pass that fear and apprehension along. Though it is important to make informed choices, it's also important to get involved. Are you raising a budding photographer? Get those images online! Build a portfolio of amazing work. &nbsp;Does your student tinker or take things apart? Does she program all the electronic devices in your home? She can start a YouTube channel and teach others what she knows. Is your child passionate about a cause? Does he want to build wells in Africa or save the local wetlands? He can find out about organizations that do that work now... or start his own. &nbsp;The possibilities are truly endless.<br /><br />If cynicism and disappointment are taking over, or if the negative consequences of our increasingly digital lives are driving you nuts, &nbsp;remember that things can change. &nbsp;HONY is a positive influence in the world and the impact is growing. The more we support the positive, the better chance we'll have to shift the digital environment towards good. We might not make it happen, or be there when it does, but our kids can and will.Sam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173026838929574083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-56878693114658625032014-05-12T15:26:00.000-07:002014-05-12T15:26:08.809-07:00Teens and #DigCit - A New Round of Posts!<div style="text-align: right;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NXoqTvNdVV4/U3FA4T2WtJI/AAAAAAAAHKk/vnZTx2oW4bw/s1600/blogprojectsteps.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NXoqTvNdVV4/U3FA4T2WtJI/AAAAAAAAHKk/vnZTx2oW4bw/s1600/blogprojectsteps.png" height="320" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/tarriers.org/cwa9dc/blog-project" target="_blank">Our 4-Part Project</a></td></tr></tbody></table>The third and final batch of 9th graders has rotated through the Digital Citizenship class, and they have just published their posts to <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">our blog</a>. Please help us out!<br /><br />In this four part project (more details <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2014/02/teens-and-digcit-attempting-to-go-viral.html" target="_blank">here</a>), publishing our work comes after lengthy research and draft writing. Then we get to the fun part, which is interacting with all of you! We aim to teach digital citizenship by actually practicing it. So, with that in mind, we invite as many people to come and read our posts as possible, and we especially invite you to leave us a comment. Students are responsible for moderating the discourse under their post, and will answer your questions or otherwise respond to your thoughts. Please visit!<br /><br />Here are all the posts from 3rd trimester students thus far.<br /><br /><b>Copyright and Other Legal/Ethical Issues:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/copywrong.html">CopyWRONG</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/copyright-violations-protections-and.html">Copyright: The Violations, Protections, and Knowledge</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/you-could-be-committing-wireless-crime.html">You Could be Committing a Wireless Crime</a></li></ul><div><br /></div><div><b>Television, Media, Videogames and Kids:</b></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/violent-video-games-may-end-lives.html">Violent Video Games May End Lives</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/appropriate-ratings.html">Appropriate Ratings</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/video-games-e-for-everyone.html">Video Games: E for EVERYONE</a></li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Gender and the Media:</b></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/blurred-lines-between-objectification.html">Blurred Lines Between Objectification and Entertainment</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-influence-of-gender-specific-toys.html">The Influence of Gender Specific Toys on Kids</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/the-women-of-today-vs-women-of-media.html">The Women of Today vs the Women of the Media</a></li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div><b>What Your Digital Footprint Says About You:</b></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/take-control-of-your-digital-footprint.html">Take Control of Your Digital Footprint: Advice for Teens</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/pause-before-you-post.html">Pause Before You Post</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/technological-drowning.html">Technological Drowning</a></li></ul></div><div><br /><br /><b>Technology and Your Health:</b></div><div><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/be-smart-with-your-smart-phone.html">Be Smart with Your Smart Phone</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/youre-multitasking-thats-costing-your.html">You’re Multitasking? That’s Costing Your Cognitive Brain</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/technophobia-takeover.html">Technophobia Takeover</a></li></ul></div><div><br /><b>Photoshop, Altered Images, Self-Esteem:</b><br /><ul><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/picture-perfect.html">Picture Perfect?</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/image-manipulation-obscuring-truth.html">Image Manipulation: Obscuring the Truth</a></li><li><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/05/photoshop-political-problem.html">Photoshop: A Political Problem?</a></li></ul><br />Thanks for helping our cause. Students really get excited when they realize that other people are reading their work and not just their teacher. It's a bit nerve-wracking to become a "published author on the internet," which is why we have them do a reflection piece at the end of the whole thing. Check back for those in a couple weeks!<br /></div><div><br /></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-83626694643007736182014-05-02T08:10:00.002-07:002014-05-02T09:33:09.318-07:00Thank You, Olympic View Elementary!It was a warm and beautiful evening in Seattle last night! We are so appreciative of the many PTA members who joined us at Olympic View for our presentation. Slide are all below, and links within are all active.<br /><br /><b>Shortcuts to a few things:&nbsp;</b><br /><a href="http://evolving-parents.com/" target="_blank">Evolving Parents</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">9th Grade Digital Citizenship</a> (student posts)<br /><a href="http://commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a><br /><a href="http://www.aplatformforgood.org/" target="_blank">A Platform for Good</a> (great resources for parents)<br /><b><br /></b><b>Recommended Books:</b><br /><a href="http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/">It's Complicated</a>, danah boyd<br /><a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" target="_blank">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen</a>, Rosalind Wiseman<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Elephant-Living-Room-Television/dp/1594862761" target="_blank">The Elephant in the Living Room</a>, Dr. Dimitri Christakis<br />&nbsp; <iframe allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="500" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Sk7Dikq9nj34dCG7EmRjm3jNwq9d3gGO2zAHS795RMw/embed?start=false&amp;loop=false&amp;delayms=3000" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="100%"></iframe>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-85769730845741428532014-04-28T14:35:00.000-07:002014-04-28T14:35:05.930-07:002014 Parent Presentation at Charles WrightThanks so much to all who joined us at CWA on April 9th. It was an energetic group of folks who showed up ready to participate, asked great questions, and offered excellent advice to each other. We are grateful you came!<br /><br />If you were unable to make it, the slides are embedded below. Please don't hesitate to contact us with questions. Holly and Sam will next be presenting Thursday, May 1st at <a href="http://ovpta.org/" target="_blank">Olympic View Elementary School</a> in Seattle.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/34048498" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;" width="427"> </iframe> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/hollylara/cwa-parent-presentation-2014" target="_blank" title="CWA Parent Presentation 2014">CWA Parent Presentation 2014</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/hollylara" target="_blank">Holly Gerla</a></strong> </div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-18473114984042946272014-04-02T15:37:00.002-07:002014-04-02T15:39:28.263-07:00The Neverending Student<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gysxmMLB0uk/UxkNvESM_aI/AAAAAAAAG0g/eglHdbPVuc4/s1600/IMG_0098.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gysxmMLB0uk/UxkNvESM_aI/AAAAAAAAG0g/eglHdbPVuc4/s1600/IMG_0098.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What I'm reading (or trying to) right now!</td></tr></tbody></table>"Why is it so hard being a guy?"<br /><br /><i>I don't know, Ms. Gerla. It just IS.</i><br /><hr /><i><br /></i>My head is spinning. There is so much I want to learn, or relearn, or refresh in my mind.<br /><br />Over the last few years, the work we do with kids and parents has taken a much more concrete shape now that this thing called "Digital Citizenship" has rooted itself in our community. But as Sam and I have noted before, the digital part of it is only one element. Technically there is much to learn and understand about the world that is so rapidly changing around us. Ethically, however, this is about the choices we make and the kind of people we want to be, and in that regard, many lessons we hope to impart remain constant. I have found that my own professional and personal experience is just not enough in order for me to really dig deep with kids. I have blind spots, biases of my own, and a perspective of the world that is shaped by my identity, my gender, my race, my family, my politics, my everything. How do I make sure that I expose myself to viewpoints different than my own? How do I prevent my own "<a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles" target="_blank">filter bubble</a>," a concept I discuss with my students, and really listen to the variety of voices around me? How do I make sure I present not just information that I personally think is important and interesting, but actually represents a variety of perspectives and opens the door to discussion? Professionally, how do I stay current in my field?<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Lifelong learning, that's how.</span><br /><br />The photo above shows 4 in the stack of 11 books currently on my nightstand or my Kindle. My list:<br /><ol><li>Rosalind Wiseman,&nbsp;<a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" target="_blank">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen: Helping Our Boys Cope with Schoolyard Power, Locker-Room Tests, Girlfriends, and the New Rules of Boy World</a></li><li>danah boyd,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.danah.org/itscomplicated/" target="_blank">It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens</a></li><li>Claude Steele,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Whistling-Vivaldi-Stereotypes-Affect-Issues/dp/0393339726" target="_blank">Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do</a></li><li>Emily Bazelon,&nbsp;<a href="http://emilybazelon.com/books/sticks-and-stones/" target="_blank">Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy</a></li><li>Jennifer Pozner,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.realitybitesbackbook.com/about-reality-bites-back/" target="_blank">Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV</a></li><li>Cathy N. Davidson,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cathydavidson.com/books/now-you-see-it/" target="_blank">Now You See It: How Technology and Brain Science Will Transform Schools and Business for the 21st Century</a></li><li>Jo Langford, <a href="http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com/books/index.html" target="_blank">The Sex EDcylopedia: A Comprehensive Guide to Healthy Sexuality, For the Modern, Male Teen</a></li><li>Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D. and Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., <a href="http://www.michaelthompson-phd.com/books/raising-cain/" target="_blank">Raising Cain:&nbsp;Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys</a></li><li>Gabriel Garcia Marquez, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Love-Time-Cholera-Oprahs-Book/dp/0307389731" target="_blank">Love in the Time of Cholera</a> (book club!)</li><li>Chris Colfer, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Land-Stories-Wishing-Spell/dp/0316201561" target="_blank">The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell</a> (book 1 in a series my daughter is reading and she wants me to read it too)</li><li>Rick Riordan, <a href="http://www.rickriordan.com/my-books/percy-jackson/heroes-of-olympus/The-House-of-Hades.aspx" target="_blank">House of Hades</a> (I'm behind in the Heroes of Olympus series, gotta keep up)</li></ol>Quite a collection. So far the only one I've completely finished is #1 (don't tell my book club).<br /><div><br /><a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" target="_blank">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen</a> was the must-read at the top of my list.&nbsp;Why?&nbsp;Let me introduce you to my <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">9th grade Digital Citizenship class</a>. In the first trimester this year, a brief glance at my class list showed that a group would soon be coming into my room over 80% male. Not a big deal, really, but I knew we had big plans on deck to discuss gender stereotypes in the media, and I wanted to be prepared for what an imbalance of that magnitude would do to the atmosphere of our classroom, and what influence it might have on group discussions. I was very up front with the kids... I'm female. I am one of 5 girls in my family. I am raising two daughters. I have read lots of parenting books, and I've been a teacher for many years, of students in preschool through graduate school. But I have no idea what it's like to raise a boy in my daily life, nor am I a man, nor did I grow up with any brothers in my home. &nbsp;I felt the need to prepare myself more, be careful with my words, try to create a climate where the girls felt comfortable sharing too, and present the idea of gender stereotypes in a way that didn't perpetuate a "battle of the sexes" where we try to figure out who has it worse in our society. I'm not sure how well I succeeded on this front, but the motivation has stayed with me as the year has progressed, and I have actively looked for resources that I hope will both better educate me AND make me a better educator.<br /><br />So, book #1: Ms. Wiseman's name might ring a bell as the author of <a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/queen-bees-and-wannabes/" target="_blank">Queen Bees and Wannabes</a>, the book upon which the film "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/" target="_blank">Mean Girls</a>" was based. (I added that book to my list for a refresher after finishing this current one.) Boy world isn't my world, so I badly needed this resource (and 7 and 8 on the list above). There are several chapters that I think ALL parents should read, not just parents of boys. If you're taking notes, those are Chapter 5 ("Breaking Down the Wall"), Chapter 8 ("Your Parenting Profile"), and Chapters 14, 17, and 18. Who am I kidding? READ THE WHOLE THING!! Chapters 9 and 10 on social networking and video games are worth it alone.<br /><br />Wiseman is brilliant, and there are far too many "just perfect" quotes for me to share here. At the heart of every chapter, however, is the foundational family principle that <b><i>all people deserve to be treated with dignity</i></b>. If you are the type of person who is never quite sure what to say in certain situations, like when your kid is caught lying, or you find out it's <b>your</b> precious child that is the one being mean to others, there's a script in here for you! If you would like to read an excerpt from the book, she has published the <a href="http://goodmenproject.com/ethics-values/brand-why-doesnt-batman-ever-smile-part-1/" target="_blank">Why Doesn't Batman Ever Smile?</a> chapter in three parts at the <a href="http://goodmenproject.com/" target="_blank">Good Men Project</a>&nbsp;(another excellent web source added to my list of daily reads).<br /><br />I have shared extensively my thoughts on the gender front (<a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/02/gender-issues-part-1.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/03/gender-issues-part-2-subtitle-holly.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-3-girl-rising-rape.html" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-4-picture-perfect.html" target="_blank">4</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-5-merida-makeover.html" target="_blank">5</a> times) and I have continued to teach these lessons to new students this year. But in the context of a high school class on social media and technology, where the news is filled with stories of all the things teenagers do wrong, I wanted to explore this more deeply. I truly believe that the <b>language</b> of stereotypes and social constructions (and misunderstandings) makes up a vast majority of the bad behavior we see online, and I really wanted to challenge my students to think differently about the messages they are sending and receiving on a regular basis. Pushing boundaries, trying to fit in, attempting to be funny, "getting" the jokes, and figuring out who you are in a group of other people are all part of growing up, whether it happens online or off. Where does the hurtful language come from? Why do we use it?<br /><br />As I got into several lessons with my 9th graders, and frankly as we followed current events, the issue of language kept coming back, and it became obvious once more that our words really matter. By the end of that first trimester, as the <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2014/2/14/5411608/worst-of-the-richie-incognito-jonathan-martin-report-miami-dolphins" target="_blank">Richie Incognito/Jonathan Martin</a> story neatly summarized a whole pile of related topics we had been discussing throughout the term (bullying, racism, language, Twitter, social media, gender stereotypes, privacy), I saw my boy-heavy class grappling with these very real issues (well, maybe <i>I</i> was grappling more, to be honest), and I threw my hands up and simply asked, "Why is it so hard being a guy?"<br /><br /><i>I don't know, Ms. Gerla. It just IS.</i><br /><i><br /></i>(cue my reading of <a href="https://rosalindwiseman.com/rwpublications/masterminds-and-wingmen/" target="_blank">Masterminds &amp; Wingmen</a>)<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">After twenty years of teaching and working with teens, I realize that we often make the mistake of believing that if a boy doesn’t come to us with problems, then he doesn’t have them. We believe this for various reasons. Boys don’t demand our attention in the same ways that girls do. We don’t give them a language for talking about their worries and experiences like we do with girls. And we really don’t think enough about what our culture—and ourselves by extension—demands and expects of boys and how it frames their emotional lives, decision-making, self-esteem, and social competence. When we do notice boys, it’s usually because they’re somehow failing or they’re acting out in ways that appear thoughtless, reckless, disrespectful, threatening, or frightening. (Wiseman)</blockquote><br />Frequently, when schools do workshops or classes on sex ed, puberty, or general social skills, we separate our students by sex. While in many cases that makes for a safer environment in which kids can ask honest questions without fear of embarrassment (which is a good thing), I worry sometimes that it removes boys and girls from the experience of really trying to understand each other (which is a HARD thing). That's why I would recommend ALL parents read books, like Wiseman's, that outwardly appear to be for just one group, but can very powerfully teach us more about ourselves in the process, and help us teach our kids about things they don't necessarily experience all the time. Wouldn't conflicts be easier to resolve if we simply took the time to understand each other better?<br /><br />My teaching partner, Jane Riches, and I use a couple of sections from the educational DVD version of <a href="http://www.missrepresentation.org/" target="_blank">Miss Representation</a> in our class (the "Media Literacy" and "Behind the Scenes" clips for the high school curriculum). We clearly discuss with our students the perspective that shapes the documentary and ask them to see how it relates to all people, not just women in the media. This trimester, Jane has a class that is the exact opposite of what I experienced in the first round...she has 92% girls. As they watched last week, one girl actually expressed her wish out loud that she would like to see the film with boys in the room so she could see how they react to it and talk about it with them. <i>Brilliant</i>. Our class demographics have purely been a circumstance of scheduling, but they have unwittingly provided us with our own "case studies" in gender dynamics. And the more we explore stereotypes, bias, our assumptions, and the social constructions within which we live and act, the more impressed I am at the honesty and maturity of our kids. We have had students research and write about a whole variety of topics related to Digital Citizenship and Media Literacy. And though I wish my own bias didn't make me react with such astonishment, because I just <i>expect</i> girls to care about some of these issues, I have been deeply impressed with our boys who have chosen to write about <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-is-rape-culture_13.html" target="_blank">rape culture</a>, the impact of <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/male-ideal-corruption-by-media.html" target="_blank">ideal beauty standards</a> on men, and the <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2013/10/do-women-get-respect-they-deserve-in.html" target="_blank">culture of gaming for women</a>.<br /><br />Though I am an educator, I am also the neverending student. I don't think there will ever be a time when I'm "done" learning. Thankfully, in my job, I have a wide variety of teachers.</div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-152442850811864902014-02-15T14:25:00.000-08:002014-02-19T14:48:07.540-08:00Teens and #DigCit - Attempting to 'Go Viral'<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwQ7XCM0bR4/Uv_SOvr69iI/AAAAAAAAGxo/W27UAOJtbho/s1600/7086416117_87e1369ae9_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SwQ7XCM0bR4/Uv_SOvr69iI/AAAAAAAAGxo/W27UAOJtbho/s1600/7086416117_87e1369ae9_b.jpg" height="320" width="264" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="text-align: center;">modified from Flickr&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;">by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/superkimbo/">superkimbo</a></div></td></tr></tbody></table>It's been a big week for me in the land of <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/tarriers.org/cwa9dc/" target="_blank">Digital Citizenship</a>...my second trimester students published their blog posts a few days ago, and the grand experiment to actually "practice what we preach" is underway once again!<br /><br />Sam and I have now been working on <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/" target="_blank">Ethics 4 A Digital World</a> for over three years. Our thinking, teaching, and practice have evolved right along with the digital landscape with which we are trying to keep up. Always on the lookout for ways to really practice with students the critical thinking that being a good digital citizen requires, I jumped at the chance this year to teach a ninth grade seminar on this very topic. &nbsp;I love everything about this class...except that I only get to see my students for two days a week for 11 weeks. So my teaching partner (another amazing librarian, how did I get so lucky?) and I had to really think and plan for what we could accomplish in the amount of time we have been given, which, in actuality, is a huge gift...many schools do not make time for digital citizenship at all.<br /><br />I knew that I wanted to give students as much exposure to as many digital tools as was reasonable, and provide for them spaces where they could openly talk about issues, practice their skills, learn some new things, and start (or continue) to build a digital footprint that reflected who they are as thoughtful contributors to our world. I wanted to show them how they could use social media for good things, to make a difference for others. &nbsp;I also really wanted to squeeze some media literacy into the course, because I am a firm believer that the future media our kids create has the power to change some minds and attitudes, and not just perpetuate the same tired stereotypes we see all the time (which, coincidentally, is the source of so much "bad" behavior online). &nbsp;So I began by writing my kids a personal statement about <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bgTMhuZxtJHDy0gAY30GoCP9L4aYoiAuB-E3qS_VNbg/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">my wishes for them</a>, and why I see our class time as valuable and important as they grow up surrounded by media and technology.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>More than half of our 11 weeks together is spent researching, writing, and commenting for a <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2013/08/welcome.html" target="_blank">class blog</a>. Current events in tech/media-land play a large role in our discussions, so I began curating <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/msgerla/" target="_blank">my Pinterest boards</a>&nbsp;in a different way, creating boards for some of the broader categories we cover. I put everything on the "<a href="http://www.pinterest.com/msgerla/hot-topics/" target="_blank">Hot Topics</a>" board initially, but that quickly grew out of control. By separating them, I could actually assign kids to find an article to share about a particular topic (in short weekly assignments), and let them start with the board as a jumping off point. What has happened is that each student reads and shares&nbsp;<b>one</b> article in greater depth, but he or she has scanned all the other headlines and images in the search for something of interest, so exposure has widened. I like that. When it came time to finally narrow the focus and choose one topic for a blog post, many kids started with the <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a> boards, and quickly moved on to find other resources from online newspapers, our <a href="https://twitter.com/cwadc9" target="_blank">class Twitter feed</a>, library databases, and sites like <a href="http://procon.org/">procon.org</a>.<br /><br />Fast forward through <a href="https://www.edmodo.com/about?language=en" target="_blank">Edmodo</a>, <a href="http://www.noodletools.com/tools/index.php" target="_blank">Noodle Tools</a>, <a href="http://docs.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Docs</a>, and <a href="http://blogger.com/" target="_blank">Blogger</a>...skill building happens in these spaces, and I don't mean to diminish the real work, but the fun stuff, and what I most want to share, is still coming! (if you're an educator and want more details, please <a href="mailto:hgerla@charleswright.org" target="_blank">contact me</a>)<br /><br />Now that we have finally hit the fantastic orange "Publish" button on our blog posts, magic happens. I am cashing in on 6 years worth of building my digital footprint and personal learning network, sharing our work as far and wide as I possibly can with the tools at my disposal. I am encouraging my students to do the same so they can get as much feedback as possible. And, to be honest, I share the visitor stats with them so we can learn a little something about web traffic and analytics...but they've sort of turned it into a contest to see who can get the most hits. Game on!<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://media.katu.com/images/140212_county_fession_660.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://media.katu.com/images/140212_county_fession_660.jpg" height="196" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.katu.com/news/local/Twitter-thread-filled-with--245115731.html" target="_blank">Local teens sharing intimate "confessions" on Twitter</a><br />Sadly, it's stories like this that give teens a bad reputation.</td></tr></tbody></table>Sharing our work via social media has led to a new development on the horizon. The very day we published our latest round of blog posts, February 13th, my sister was listening to a <a href="http://kiroradio.com/listen/9967874/" target="_blank">local talk radio show</a> discussing a <a href="http://www.katu.com/news/local/Twitter-thread-filled-with--245115731.html" target="_blank">negative story involving teenagers and Twitter </a>and heard the host earnestly lament that parents and schools need to be doing more to educate kids. (AGREED!) She immediately messaged the radio hosts about <a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">our blog</a>, and our&nbsp;<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ethics4ADW" target="_blank">Ethics 4 A Digital World</a> Facebook feed, and the producer of the show contacted me almost immediately. He invited me and a couple of students to be interviewed on the radio about our class and what we are learning. WOW! Stay tuned for more info on that...<br /><br />Aside from the thrill of getting everything out there, though, one of my favorite things about this project is the change I see in my kids when they realize that people are actually reading their work and value what they have to say. As one student from first trimester put it in his reflection,&nbsp;"Blogging has been a great learning experience for me. I feel like I'm actually talking to someone, whereas if you're writing an essay it isn't directly at anyone." Some of my students changed their minds a bit after being swayed by earnest commenters, some had to do further research to answer questions, and some found more strength in their own convictions after interacting with others. It was rewarding to witness the process. This time around we have just entered the truly interactive portion of <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/tarriers.org/cwa9dc/blog-project" target="_blank">the project</a>, and our blog has become a real space in which we can practice digital citizenship by moderating comments and engaging our readers in civil discourse.<br /><br />Would you care to join us? Good things can go 'viral' too. :)<br /><br /><hr /><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">9th Grade Digital Citizenship Blog</a><br /><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/tarriers.org/cwa9dc" target="_blank">Class Website</a> (more project details are available here)<br /><a href="https://twitter.com/cwadc9" target="_blank">@cwadc9</a>&nbsp;on Twitter<br /><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/msgerla/" target="_blank">Ms. Gerla</a> on Pinterest<br /><br /><h3>Student Posts from Trimester 2</h3><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-parents-posted-what-about-me.html" target="_blank">My Parents Posted WHAT about me!</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/is-technology-negatively-affecting-our_13.html" target="_blank">Is Technology Negatively Affecting Our Health?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/m-for-misleading.html" target="_blank">M for Misleading</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/are-password-restrictions-doing-more.html" target="_blank">Are Password Restrictions Doing More Harm Than Good?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/my-photo-my-choice.html" target="_blank">My Photo, My Choice?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/e-venge.html" target="_blank">E-Venge</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/the-nsa-national-snooping-agency.html" target="_blank">The NSA: National Snooping Agency?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/what-is-rape-culture_13.html" target="_blank">What is Rape Culture?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/video-games-and-education-can-they-mix_13.html" target="_blank">Video Games and Education, Can They Mix?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/is-internet-taking-over-your-life.html" target="_blank">Is the Internet Taking Over Your Life?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/reading-between-lines-privacy-agreements.html" target="_blank">Reading Between the Lines: Privacy Agreements</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/photoshopping-crossing-path-of-enough.html" target="_blank">Photoshopping: Crossing the Path of Enough?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/male-ideal-corruption-by-media.html" target="_blank">Male Ideal Corruption by Media?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/safe-and-secure-photo-sharing-not.html" target="_blank">Safe and Secure Photo Sharing? Not!</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/marketing-tactics-are-taken-way-too-far.html" target="_blank">Marketing Tactics Are Taken Way Too Far</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/social-networking-its-harming-you.html" target="_blank">Social Networking: It's Harming you!</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/as-annoying-online-tracking-is-when.html" target="_blank">Tracking You Online...What's Going On?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/your-online-privacy-is-fading-quickly.html" target="_blank">Your Online Privacy is Fading Quickly!</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/how-should-cyberbullies-be-held_12.html" target="_blank">How Should Cyberbullies be held accountable?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/is-gaming-brain-drain_12.html" target="_blank">Is Gaming a Brain Drain?</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/dont-ruin-your-chances-of-getting-job.html" target="_blank">Don't Ruin Your Chances of Getting the Job</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/cyber-bullies-should-pay.html" target="_blank">Cyber-bullies Should Pay</a><br /><a href="http://cwadc9.blogspot.com/2014/02/dating-dangerous-for-teens.html" target="_blank">Online Dating Dangerous for Teens?</a>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-88820787569709626632013-12-10T22:27:00.001-08:002013-12-11T13:40:55.265-08:00Thank you, Lowell Elementary!Sam and I had the privilege of presenting to the Lowell Elementary PTA this evening, and some guests from other neighboring schools. We are so appreciative of a receptive audience, great questions, and issues to ponder as we all work to raise our kids in the digital world. The slide presentation is embedded below, and I've added some quick links to other resources shared. Thanks so much for having us!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="356" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/29097339" style="border-width: 1px 1px 0; border: 1px solid #CCC; margin-bottom: 5px;" width="427"> </iframe> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 5px;"><strong> <a href="https://www.slideshare.net/hollylara/lowell-parenting-in-the-digital-world-2013-29097339" target="_blank" title="Lowell Parent Workshop">Lowell Parent Workshop</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/hollylara" target="_blank">Holly Gerla</a></strong></div><br /><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Resources:</span></h2>You've already found our site! You can also follow us on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ethics4ADW" target="_blank">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/ethics4ADW" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/msgerla/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.evolving-parents.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="118" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vEnUdqC5vvs/UqgDx5nB5QI/AAAAAAAAGwM/6M-w8RrzG5E/s320/471659_152860061514224_1816827761_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="88" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yp7CHYuqy5o/UqgEo2WDuCI/AAAAAAAAGwQ/3olGTEl0f98/s320/01_csm_logo.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.graphite.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://ele.fredrogerscenter.org/uploads/activity/image/203/normal_csm_graphite_442x250.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Gary Kovacs Ted Talk: "Tracking the Trackers"</span></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" mozallowfullscreen="" scrolling="no" src="http://embed.ted.com/talks/gary_kovacs_tracking_the_trackers.html" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="560"></iframe><span style="font-family: Arial;"><br /></span></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: .38in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.38in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">Browser add-ons or extensions:</span></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.42in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">•</span><u style="text-underline: single;"><span style="color: #185da2; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://adblockplus.org/en/">AdBlock Plus</a></span></u></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.42in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">•</span><u style="text-underline: single;"><span style="color: #185da2; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://clea.nr/">A Clea.nr Internet</a></span></u></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.42in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">•</span><u style="text-underline: single;"><span style="color: #185da2; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/simple-profanity-filter/ackkocjhcalcpgpfjcoinogdejibgbho/details">Simple Profanity Filter</a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"> (for Chrome)</span></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.42in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">•</span><u style="text-underline: single;"><span style="color: #185da2; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.ghostery.com/">Ghostery</a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">(identify and block trackers)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--></div><div style="direction: ltr; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 1.0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; mso-line-break-override: none; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; punctuation-wrap: hanging; text-align: left; text-indent: -.42in; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">•</span><u style="text-underline: single;"><span style="color: #185da2; font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/lightbeam/">Lightbeam</a></span></u><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;">(for Firefox)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-60208988271395593372013-11-19T10:50:00.003-08:002013-11-19T10:50:50.943-08:00New Digital Citizenship Resources<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xt642923tM/UoueQ5DDxDI/AAAAAAAAGvo/-IhFsKDtzWs/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-19+at+9.09.49+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6xt642923tM/UoueQ5DDxDI/AAAAAAAAGvo/-IhFsKDtzWs/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-11-19+at+9.09.49+AM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.pinterest.com/edutopia/digital-citizenship/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>CSM + Edutopia = &nbsp;AWESOME!</i></span></a></td></tr></tbody></table>We have a lot of resources listed in our sidebar to the right, and we hope you will check them out! Two new additions at which you should definitely take a look...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a> has teamed up with <a href="http://www.edutopia.org/" target="_blank">Edutopia</a> to curate a <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/edutopia/digital-citizenship/" target="_blank">Digital Citizenship board on Pinterest</a>. &nbsp;Yahoo! You now have two educational powerhouses contributing their expertise on these very important topics. And since it's <a href="http://pinterest.com/" target="_blank">Pinterest</a>, it's presented in a fun, visually engaging way. It's easy to spot good posters, infographics, or images that you can share with kids.<br /><br />Another new addition to the resource list is&nbsp;<a href="http://www.aplatformforgood.org/" target="_blank">A Platform for Good</a>. PFG's <a href="http://www.aplatformforgood.org/pages/about-us" target="_blank">About Us</a> page could have been written by us! It's right up our alley:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Our vision for A Platform for Good is to start a dialogue about what it means to participate responsibly in a digital world. While recognizing the potential risks, we will celebrate technology as a vehicle for opportunity and social change. We hope to achieve this goal by providing parents and teachers with the resources to learn about and interact with new technologies, and by giving teens the ability to engage and teach their peers, family members, and educators. Through this approach, we hope to encourage good digital citizenship, responsible online behavior, and the use of technology for positive change and making a difference.</i></blockquote>&nbsp;Explore<a href="http://www.aplatformforgood.org/" target="_blank"> the site</a>, visit its resource center, and tailor your results for parents, teachers, or teens.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EZwjtcLAwNs/UouxPnSHlgI/AAAAAAAAGv4/rVIA6FOvAtU/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-11-19+at+10.42.07+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="105" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EZwjtcLAwNs/UouxPnSHlgI/AAAAAAAAGv4/rVIA6FOvAtU/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-11-19+at+10.42.07+AM.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Screen Shot of <a href="http://www.aplatformforgood.org/" target="_blank">A Platform for Good</a></i></span></td></tr></tbody></table>As we all know, the internet can feel like a firehose of information, and we just want someone to help us slow it to a manageable trickle. To that end, we try to share the best resources we can find. Have a suggestion? Leave us a comment!Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-52579749100204532272013-09-30T19:45:00.000-07:002013-09-30T19:45:22.714-07:00What the Scrap is Digital Citizenship?A new school year has begun, and the very best parts of my job are back in the classroom with me on a regular basis. As a technology specialist, I spend my time with kids in grades 3 through 9 teaching technical skills, finding great ways to incorporate technology into curricular projects, and best of all, really getting to spend time talking to kids about what it means to participate in our digital world.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWwRRoqxLm4/UkWuU4WHl1I/AAAAAAAAGqw/7cqkKOeMZww/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-09-27+at+9.05.34+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="90" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mWwRRoqxLm4/UkWuU4WHl1I/AAAAAAAAGqw/7cqkKOeMZww/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-09-27+at+9.05.34+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Though it's quite easy nowadays to do a quick Google search and find millions of results for this term to help us grasp the concept, creating authentic experiences for our students (or your kids) to actually <i>practice</i>&nbsp;digital citizenship is essential for true understanding to take place. Horror stories abound depicting all the negative consequences of unchecked social media, including cyberbullying, sexting, hate speech, ruined reputations, poor decision-making and the like. Far too often we read <a href="http://www.mcafee.com/us/resources/reports/rp-digital-deception-survey.pdf" target="_blank">stories</a> of adults who have relinquished their responsibility in this realm by writing technology off as something "they don't get." &nbsp;Well, Sam and I can tell you that the more we work with kids and digital tools, the more we talk to them about <i>behavior</i>. You don't have to "get it" to talk to your kids about the kind of people they are growing up to be. Behavior isn't really about technology at all...it's about the choices we make. Technology just gives us more opportunities to make choices, and sometimes, unfortunately, those choices have bigger consequences because they create a digital trail.<br /><br />So how do we talk to kids about this in a way that makes sense to them? I've learned, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2012/02/digital-citizenship-in-practice.html" target="_blank">sometimes the hard way</a>, that talking isn't enough. Kids need PRACTICE. But they also need language that they can understand and remember. With my youngest students, I explain to them that technology vocabulary is like learning a new language. Words that mean something in our daily usage of English have a different meaning when it comes to computers. Take the word "menu," for example. When I ask them to find a particular menu, &nbsp;I'm not asking them to order me an entrée, amirite? If we need to find something in the dock, I'm not talking about a place you tie up boats.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fWdIVq5Ml7s/UFutqGiJ8uI/AAAAAAAABus/JiHoEUC_PuM/s320/before+you+fb+txt+tw+or+blog2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fWdIVq5Ml7s/UFutqGiJ8uI/AAAAAAAABus/JiHoEUC_PuM/s320/before+you+fb+txt+tw+or+blog2.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thank you <a href="http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/2012/09/before-you-fb-instagram-text-tweet-or.html" target="_blank">technologyrocksseriously</a>!</td></tr></tbody></table>Language matters!<br /><br />Last year, when we solicited advice for youngsters from our 8th graders, many groups responded with something like, "Think before you post online." &nbsp;GREAT advice, right? But what does that actually mean? Think about what? How do I stop and think about the future impact of my decisions when I'm not developmentally able or ready to do that? Looking for help, I found <a href="http://www.technologyrocksseriously.com/2012/09/before-you-fb-instagram-text-tweet-or.html" target="_blank">this great infographic from a generous and sharing educator</a>. Breaking down what it means to "think" into smaller elements, and a series of questions that kids could easily understand and answer, helped them get it. And this year? They've seen the posters and read the words, and when I ask them what Digital Citizenship is, they say, "THINK!"<br /><br />I love that.<br /><br />So knowing that this whole acronym thing works pretty well with kids, and that I have a new group of bright young minds to introduce to Digital Citizenship, we went back to the drawing board with our official definition. &nbsp;I shared this with my 3rd graders:<br /><br />Being a good "digital citizen" means using technology...<br /><ul><li>safely</li><li>responsibly</li><li>critically</li><li>productively</li></ul>We will spend a great deal of time picking this apart and really figuring out what each part of the definition means in practice, but first we need to remember the words. So let me share the genius of one particular student in this introductory phase. &nbsp;Having seen the T.H.I.N.K. poster, she looked at my definition of Digital Citizenship and said, "You know, the letters in that almost spell SCRAP." Indeed they do, so we quickly did a little adjusting:<br /><div><br /></div><div>Being a good "digital citizen" means using technology...<br /><ul><li><span style="color: red;"><b>S</b></span>afely</li><li><span style="color: red;"><b>C</b></span>ritically</li><li><span style="color: red;"><b>R</b></span>esponsibly</li><li><b><span style="color: red;">A</span></b>nd</li><li><span style="color: red;"><b>P</b></span>roductively</li></ul>I feel another cool poster coming on...<br /><br />Of course, I still need to figure out some brilliant metaphor for SCRAP in the digital world. The definition doesn't easily lend itself to my cause.<br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lq2u3clla7w/Ukoyd8Iit8I/AAAAAAAAGrM/9bFlkTRPU5s/s1600/scrap.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="3" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lq2u3clla7w/Ukoyd8Iit8I/AAAAAAAAGrM/9bFlkTRPU5s/s1600/scrap.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you have an idea, please share! But for now, we're going with it. Kids tend to remember <i>safe</i> and <i>responsible</i> pretty easily, but we need to really dig into <i>critical</i> and <i>productive</i> to find all the great ways we can use technology for our own learning and to make the world a better place. If SCRAP helps, so be it.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's my little scrap for you. &nbsp;<i>(I tried...)</i></div><div><br /></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-46587388621553351002013-07-22T08:23:00.000-07:002013-07-22T09:38:12.079-07:00This Is Not Trayvon MartinThis is not a picture of Trayvon Martin who was shot and killed by George Zimmerman on February 26th, 2012:<br><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.politifact.com.s3.amazonaws.com/politifact/photos/game.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="200" src="http://static.politifact.com.s3.amazonaws.com/politifact/photos/game.jpg" title="" width="200"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An image of the rapper Game, not Trayvon Martin</td></tr></tbody></table>Neither is this:<br><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f7099ea69beddf21800003d/not-trayvon-martin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f7099ea69beddf21800003d/not-trayvon-martin.jpg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An image reported to be of a different person also named Trayvon Martin,</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><br></div><div>Both photographs have been used in countless blogs, status updates, chain emails and tweets as evidence that the 17-year old was complicit in his own death and much more sinister and threatening than his portrayal in the "liberal media." The fact that a 17-year old black kid in a hoodie is considered even remotely sinister is clear evidence that we are not in a "post-racial" America, but that's a discussion for another time. I want to talk about the power of images and the responsibility we share in communicating accurate, truthful and ethical information.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>It took me exactly 30 seconds, using an<a href="http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/martin.asp"> article on Snopes.com,</a> to determine that the images I saw all over Facebook, some blogs and other media sources, were not actually of Trayvon. &nbsp;Also not true is the assertion that the most frequently used image of Trayvon is five years old. <a href="http://www.snopes.com/photos/politics/graphics/tmhs2.jpg">That image</a> was only taken six months before his death, prior to the beginning of the 2011/2012 school year. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>So, what's the big deal?<br><br>Images are powerful. They convey intense emotions and some of the most&nbsp;compelling&nbsp;have become symbols of major events in our history. <a href="http://www.famouspictures.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Tank-Man1.jpg">A man standing alone in front of a tank</a>? Tiananmen Square. <a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/03/05/obituaries/05stearns1/05stearns1-articleLarge.jpg">A young boy standing in front of his family saluting a casket?</a> The funeral of President John F. Kennedy. <a href="http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/fsa.8b29516/">A woman, dust blown and haggard, sitting with her cowering children?</a> The dust bowl and Great Depression. Images really are worth a thousand words. It's because of their power that their misuse is irresponsible, and when we re-post, share and forward images we haven't taken the time to consider with a critical eye, we are complicit in this irresponsibility.<br><br>It's true that Twitchy.com posted a correction to the article that first shared false photos of Trayvon Martin, but the damage was already done. Those looking for a reason to fault Trayvon in his own death, or to promote the opinion that George Zimmerman acted in self defense, latched on to the photos as proof that Trayvon was dangerous. They shared them on Facebook and forwarded the images in emails. They 'liked' posts and photoshopped comparisons between Mr. Zimmerman and a supposedly older Mr. Martin. The people that used these&nbsp;inaccurate&nbsp;images of Trayvon Martin as evidence, contributed negatively to an already heated national debate.<br><br>Yes, this is an extreme example, but in the world of social media, posting inaccurate, extreme, or unethical images is commonplace. Images are used for bullying (drama, general meanness, etc.); they are used to generate 'likes' (like this is if you care about ______, scroll down if you are a jerk);&nbsp;&nbsp;they are re-posted without permission, sometimes creating conflict even when the intention is benign &nbsp;(Hey, look at this picture I posted of your awkward phase in middle school!). You can find an image of almost anything using a Google image search and then that image can be downloaded, shared, modified, re-shared, tweeted, posted, emailed and more.&nbsp;Should you like and re-post an image of a soldier tearfully reuniting with her family?&nbsp;&nbsp;It depends, and we should take a moment to consider our intent, the impact on others (did the family want the photo shared in the first place?), and whether the image is of what we actually think it is.<br><br>There are many ethical issues to consider when it comes to images, and Holly and I have had some lively discussions with our students about some of them. Young people wonder if and when they should be asking permission to post photos of their friends. They think about what an image says about their values and character. While working on documentary-style projects, they've been asked to use a critical eye when deciding whether images should be used purely for shock value - a consideration I wish both our mainstream media and everyday social networking users would devote some time towards.<br><br>So, what do we do about it?<br><br>Step 1: <b>Use</b>&nbsp;<b>a critical eye</b>, even if it was posted by your very, very best friend/sibling/parent. If it seems shocking or too good to be true, do a little fact-checking before you "like" it. Snopes.com and Factcheck.org are helpful, but a simple Google search will usually root out controversy and almost-truths. I'll also add that with the abundance of random pages now on Facebook, if you aren't sure who the original poster was, it's a good idea to do a little investigating before you "like."<br><br>Step 2: <b>Use</b>&nbsp;<b>experts to back you up.</b> This is the single most important skill I hope my Middle Schoolers gain during their years of academic research. Experts come in all shapes and sizes. They're newspaper reporters and eye witnesses, they're doctors and lawyers, they're Master Gardeners (shout out to my sister, <a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/07/11/2650040/lovely-versatile-lavender.html">Amy McIntyre at the Idaho Statesman</a>), they're authors of books and peer-reviewed journals and they're easier to find than you think. Before you voice your opinion, make sure the sources informing you are accurate and you've taken bias into consideration.<br><br>Step 3: <b>Talk&nbsp;about it.</b> Your teen "liked" an image on Facebook that makes you uncomfortable? Discuss it. You're about to post photos from your family reunion? Ask your family (and kids) permission before you do and tell them why you're asking. You just listened to pundits talk about photos of Trayvon Martin again? Start a conversation about what images do and don't tell us about people.<br><br>Perhaps if enough of us take these steps, we'll slow the spread of misinformation, or at least help build good habits for ourselves and our families so that a critical eye can become the first&nbsp;defense&nbsp;against bias and&nbsp;propaganda.<br><br></div><div><br></div>Sam Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02173026838929574083noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-77497483246393123532013-05-30T13:32:00.000-07:002017-02-08T11:34:44.680-08:00Gender Issues, part 5 - The Merida Makeover, Ignorance, Trigger Warnings, and pretty much everything in my life (right now)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>This will be the final post in the Gender Issues series (see <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/02/gender-issues-part-1.html" target="_blank">1</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/03/gender-issues-part-2-subtitle-holly.html" target="_blank">2</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-3-girl-rising-rape.html" target="_blank">3</a>, <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-4-picture-perfect.html" target="_blank">4</a> if you need to catch up) for several reasons. One, when I began writing back in February, I chose the most boring title on earth, and when I write about this in the future, I'll come up with something more relevant and snazzy. Two, I am so overwhelmed by my own thoughts and emotions since I opened this Pandora's box of topics that I need to do more reading, thinking, and processing. Friends and family currently ask, "What are you up to?" and I launch into a meandering diatribe of a billion different issues (all having to do with gender roles and stereotypes, mind you) that leave me feeling scattered, like I haven't found my own "personal thesis statement" on all this yet. You may experience this in a minute...sorry. I want some clarity. Third, though there is never really a "break" from reality, I need to step away from some of this for a while and concentrate on other projects. The end of a school year is never a leisurely respite, and my attention is needed elsewhere. However, since I can't stop being a female human, I will continue to read, watch, listen to, and digest the many resources I have found over the last few months. Just with less fervor.<br /><br />So let me wrap up some loose ends...<br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Merida</span></h2><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amptoons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/merida-makeover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.amptoons.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/merida-makeover.jpg" height="200" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">the Disneyfication of an anti-Princess</td></tr></tbody></table>I mentioned in my last post the controversial Merida makeover launched by Disney in the lead up to her coronation into the Disney Princess Hall of Fame. One has only to Google "<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=merida+makeover&amp;oq=merida+ma&amp;aqs=chrome.0.59j57j60j0l2j62.1859j0&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8" target="_blank">Merida Makeover</a>" to see the response out there. Most important to me, however, was the reaction of my students, since most of them have seen the movie and many were fans of the character. I began with a brief review of our lesson on altering images and why it's done or for what purpose. When I unveiled the Merida before and after shots, the response was overwhelmingly negative. "WHYYYYYYYYYY DID THEY DO THAT!?" Big ugh.<br /><br />What was wrong with the original Merida? Why did she have to change to fit into the Disney brand? Upon further reflection, one student actually made the observation that Merida's entire character was changed by this makeover. <b><u>What she looks like fundamentally changed who she is.</u></b>&nbsp;I found this to be an interesting point to explore, particularly since Merida was changed into something her character in the movie actively did NOT want to be, which was a princess-y princess. &nbsp;This led to an interesting back and forth about our appearance and what it says about the kind of person we are. (Dress codes are another hot topic lately, but that's for another post) I pointed out that I changed my clothes and looks to come to school in the morning...I wouldn't show up for work straight out of bed still in my pajamas. &nbsp;Does that change who I am on the inside? No, they responded. &nbsp;So why or how is this different? The kids were quick to point out that this characterization of Merida was more than a simple change of clothing and the addition of makeup. The movie Merida hated that dress and getting all "done up" out of obligation to her familial and royal status. This dramatic change stripped that spunky, independent part of her character away and made her into the mold of a proper Disney princess. <br /><br />Overall, I'd say the big reaction from the kids was disappointment and wonder at why it even happened in the first place. I'm impressed that they have begun to question motives. Though it felt strange to be discussing the digital alteration of a cartoon character, they could see clear parallels between this and the magazine covers of real people we had analyzed in the <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-4-picture-perfect.html" target="_blank">Picture Perfect</a> lesson. Why does the media insist on presenting these "idealized" images of people? Will the money-making juggernaut that is the Disney Princess collection finally bend to the pressure of activists pushing for change? [To its credit (maybe) Disney has <a href="http://www.amightygirl.com/blog/?p=3443" target="_blank">acknowledged the controversy</a>, and a few changes have actually been made.] For an interesting take on the potential role of the Disney Corporation as leaders for change, read this post by the <a href="http://girlsceoconnection.wordpress.com/2013/05/20/why-does-the-walt-disney-company-continue-to-promote-their-princess-vision-for-todays-girls/" target="_blank">Girl's CEO Connection</a>.<br /><h2></h2><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">The Luxury of Ignorance</span></h2><div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ghequityinstitute.com/keynotes/files/stacks_image_225.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.ghequityinstitute.com/keynotes/files/stacks_image_225.png" height="219" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gary Howard with Benjie Howard and Maketa Wilborn</td></tr></tbody></table>Our Diversity Committee brought the <a href="http://www.nwproject.com/" target="_blank">New Wilderness Project</a>&nbsp;(Benjie &amp; Maketa, right) to our school this year for a wonderful inservice day of learning and sharing. The founders of this group are the sons of <a href="http://www.ghequityinstitute.com/bio/GHbio.html" target="_blank">Gary Howard</a>, author of <a href="http://www.ghequityinstitute.com/writings/writings.html" target="_blank">We Can't Teach What We Don't Know</a>. They asked us how the dynamics of dominance show up in our school culture, and to really dig in, they provided a framework for discussion around three key concepts:<br /><br /><ol><li>The Legacy of Privilege</li><li>The Assumption of Rightness</li><li>The Luxury of Ignorance</li></ol><blockquote class="tr_bq">In the face of our past and present, many white Americans simply choose to remain unaware, a luxury uniquely available to members of any dominant group. (<a href="http://www.workforcediversitynetwork.com/docs/Article-WhiteAmericans01-03.pdf" target="_blank">Howard, 2003</a>)</blockquote>Though Mr. Howard's work is predominantly focused on race, the idea of the "dominant culture" certainly applies to everyday sexism. The luxury of ignorance concept has stayed with me in the months following our inservice day, and I keep coming back to it again and again. Those who don't &nbsp;experience sexism, or racism, or any -ism, have the luxury of not being acutely aware of the problem. They do not see it. This doesn't automatically make them bad people, but it means they cannot be fully aware and understanding of a challenge that they never experience. I'm grateful for the reminder of how ignorant I have been about many things. I absolutely have this luxury as a privileged white person. I also have this privilege as a woman in many regards. I certainly have the luxury of ignorance if we start talking about sexual violence and abuse. Having not experienced those things myself, I was ignorant to the need for a *TRIGGER WARNING label on certain stories, videos, or images in the media. I have seen more <a href="http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Trigger_warning" target="_blank">trigger warnings</a> than I care to count lately. They are designed to let people know that sensitive or graphic content could trigger very deep and powerful feelings in them, particularly if they've been victims of assault or aggression. Though I am saddened that such a thing is necessary, I respect its power, and the bravery of people who continue to work toward justice for others despite what wounds they may carry.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/cms/assets/uploads/2013/05/amexfacebook.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/cms/assets/uploads/2013/05/amexfacebook.jpeg" height="184" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Humor or Hate Speech?</td></tr></tbody></table>My work as an educator and a technology specialist often leads me toward stories involving social media and its use by and impact on our kids. The most recent trigger-warning-worthy story has involved a social media campaign to call out <a href="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/examples-of-gender-based-hate-speech-on-facebook/" target="_blank">Facebook's misogyny&nbsp;problem</a>. The trigger warning is on the story, but I'll throw it in here as well. In asking Facebook to more clearly define and enforce its own content moderation policies, people have been pressuring companies to stop advertising on Facebook until pages that depict graphic and sexual violence against women are taken down. The content allowed, often times in the name of "humor," is utterly shocking and disgusting, so be warned if you choose to take a look. How much of this extremely graphic content do our kids see? I have no idea. But they are confronted with the more subtle references to gender roles in our culture every single day. &nbsp;Do you recognize and acknowledge it when you see it? Via social media, our kids share, on a massive scale, that which they deem to be shocking or funny. The blatant misogyny called out by <a href="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/examples-of-gender-based-hate-speech-on-facebook/" target="_blank">WAM</a> is so far from humorous it is being labeled "hate speech." But it was long before this campaign began that I saw "<a href="https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/4899063552/h6ACE37CA/" target="_blank">date rape humor</a>" floating around online, and in real life as I am reminded once again of the <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/05/gender-issues-part-3-girl-rising-rape.html" target="_blank">"it's not rape if you like it"</a> comment I heard a year ago.<br /><br />I am happy to report that <a href="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/fbagreement/" target="_blank">Facebook has finally acknowledged the problem</a> in its standards and is revamping its policies on content filtering.<br /><br />If you follow this link to <a href="http://www.womenactionmedia.org/fbagreement/" target="_blank">Women, Action, and the Media</a>, you will see something amazing. Within a week, this campaign worked. Several companies (whose ads showed up on some of these horrendous pages unbeknownst to them) responded to the boycott and pulled their advertising to pressure Facebook into action. &nbsp;This is social activism at its finest, people! And social media, through a massive Twitter campaign as well as direct appeals to Facebook, made it possible. Technology can be used for good every bit as powerfully (and hopefully more so) than it can be used to spread hateful and shaming messages. The trolls don't win if we don't let them.<br /><br /><h2><span style="font-size: x-large;">Bottom Line&nbsp;</span></h2>I have woken up. Though I have been aware of sexism, discrimination, sterotypes, gender roles, and media portrayals for a long time (and even experienced some shocking street harassment myself recently), I guess I've finally hit my tipping point and acknowledged my own ignorance. I'm more actively educating myself and sharing my thoughts with others. I'm not willing to sit silently any more, nor am I willing to fear being labeled a "crazy feminist." Bring it on. Feminism is not a bad word, and any label that suggests I care deeply about human rights is fine by me. I care about this, I can do something about it, and it is absolutely my responsibility to do so. This writing series began out of a reaction to things happening around me and my perceived need to address it for the sake of my children and my students navigating the difficult social landscape of the digital world. [In fact, it began with an article entitled, "<a href="http://www.thenation.com/blog/172647/my-male-relatives-facebook-who-sexism" target="_blank">To my male relatives on Facebook who 'like' sexism</a>."] It became, however, an intensely personal journey of discovery that I am sure to be on for the rest of my life.<br /><br />Join me.<br /><br /><i><span style="color: purple; font-size: x-small;">(By the way, I'm still keeping track of resources on the <a href="http://pinterest.com/msgerla/gendersocial-health/" target="_blank">Gender/Social Health</a> Pinterest board. Please send suggestions my way!)</span></i>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-24581880975180103282013-05-07T13:37:00.000-07:002014-03-10T09:24:55.120-07:00Gender Issues, part 4 - Picture PerfectI've been using <a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/" target="_blank">Common Sense Media</a>'s <a href="http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/gender" target="_blank">Gender and Digital Life Toolkit</a> with my 3rd graders this year. We spent a couple of weeks studying a unit called "Selling Stereotypes," where we looked at advertising specifically marketed to either girls or boys. You can read the full story <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/03/gender-issues-part-2-subtitle-holly.html" target="_blank">here</a>, but the gist of it was that the kids spotted the stereotypes fairly easily. The interesting part came in trying to figure out how we feel about it and why it happens in the first place. The Lego lesson resources were brilliant in this regard because it was so easy to spot the stereotypes in them. &nbsp;But where else are our children "sold" an image of something that requires a critical eye?<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyRtpXfpoKg/UYfch9m07HI/AAAAAAAAFfA/HdxFgva_1YQ/s1600/483776_10200097802786105_537453372_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VyRtpXfpoKg/UYfch9m07HI/AAAAAAAAFfA/HdxFgva_1YQ/s320/483776_10200097802786105_537453372_n.jpg" height="320" width="268" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Real or fake?</td></tr></tbody></table>The second lesson in the unit, called "Picture Perfect," asks the essential question, <i>How can photos be changed on the computer, and how can that affect our feelings about the way we look?</i>&nbsp;The second half of that question is much deeper and more abstract, so before we got into that part, we started by simply looking at an image.<br /><br />Take a look at the lemon on the right. &nbsp;While it was projected on the screen, I asked the kids, "Is it real or fake? How can you tell?" This discussion actually took a little longer than I thought it would. Though it probably looks like a complete fake to most of us, not everyone was convinced. I showed it to the kids two ways, first without the caption underneath and then I revealed the caption to see if that changed anyone's mind. The words definitely made a difference in whether or not we felt like we were being manipulated, and the conclusion many drew was that we should try it ourselves to test whether or not it is even possible. Hilarious results below...<br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a1ma5ahVFrE/UYfgBPJfQHI/AAAAAAAAFfQ/Oqd0Mkxffvg/s1600/254512_10200097803666127_571218759_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a1ma5ahVFrE/UYfgBPJfQHI/AAAAAAAAFfQ/Oqd0Mkxffvg/s200/254512_10200097803666127_571218759_n.jpg" height="148" width="200" /></a>What I loved about this exercise was that we started with an image that was altered for artistic purposes--not a person, just a pretty lemon. It's a beautiful picture, isn't it? The initial response from kids was, "That's cool!" Photos can be altered to create things that could otherwise exist only in our imagination.<br /><br />Once the caption was revealed, however, the skepticism creeped in. Is that <i>really</i> possible with food coloring? We became motivated to test it ourselves. My Results = Yikes! I withstood a few accusations of "I really think you could have been more careful, Ms. Gerla," but after this, we felt pretty comfortable with our conclusion that the Colorful Lemon Visual was fake. It's still a cool picture all by itself, but reading the caption made us feel manipulated.<br /><br />Now it was time to turn to advertising and the photo manipulation that occurs all the time. Altered images are commonplace, in fact <i>the norm</i>, in visual advertising, and this can range from simple touch ups to extensive alteration. So, if we spend all of our time looking at people who don't actually exist in real life, how does that make us feel about the way we look? Or how we should look? The <a href="http://www.dove.us/Social-Mission/default.aspx" target="_blank">Dove Campaign for Real Beauty</a> has been going on for several years now, and you may have recently seen the <a href="http://youtu.be/XpaOjMXyJGk" target="_blank">viral video</a> where they had a forensic artist draw portraits of women from their own descriptions of themselves and then from someone else's description of them. I suppose this represents the end result of distorted views on beauty...women highlight all their flaws and don't see themselves as beautiful. But I'm dealing with 8 and 9 year olds here, who hopefully don't care too much about that yet. So we watched the original "Evolution" video (which we also share with our 8th graders every year when they're about to start their Photoshop unit in Art class).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/O600kDpBNj4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /></div><br />Interestingly, before I showed them the video, I was walking around holding my papers for this unit and they spotted the photo below on the back, so I projected it:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9OIH-L0pew/UYfkx-dzX3I/AAAAAAAAFfc/HEplc8c8aJk/s1600/two_girls2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--9OIH-L0pew/UYfkx-dzX3I/AAAAAAAAFfc/HEplc8c8aJk/s320/two_girls2.png" height="133" width="320" /></a></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">They had NO IDEA that the girl in Photo 1 was the same person in Photo 2. Of course that is the point of the whole exercise, so we were definitely on the right track. Simply making them aware of the alterations is an important first step in being a critical consumer of media. How often are we being sold something that isn't real? What is the billboard at the end of the video even advertising? If I buy the beauty products being sold here, will I look like this model? Once her neck got digitally stretched out and her eyes reached inhuman proportions, most of the kids thought she looked pretty creepy. I agree. One student even noticed that once the digital alterations were done, her ears were in the completely wrong place (I had never noticed that in 5 years of viewing this video). So where do beauty ideals come from? Why is this done to someone who looked just fine in the first place? Does it happen to men, too?&nbsp;</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">[I should note here that there is a <a href="http://youtu.be/-_I17cK1ltY" target="_blank">corresponding video of a male model</a>, but it's longer (about 4 minutes) and he appears shirtless, so I opted not to use it in the elementary classroom.]</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PeJZNM5KxGM/UYge0OwpekI/AAAAAAAAFfw/oj6E4Nz15_c/s1600/brooklyn-decker-435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PeJZNM5KxGM/UYge0OwpekI/AAAAAAAAFfw/oj6E4Nz15_c/s200/brooklyn-decker-435.jpg" height="200" width="88" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">real life</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/28/business/28fitness-2.190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/05/28/business/28fitness-2.190.jpg" height="200" width="147" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">magazine cover</td></tr></tbody></table><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://img2-2.timeinc.net/people/i/2009/news/090824/kelly-clarkson-320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://img2-2.timeinc.net/people/i/2009/news/090824/kelly-clarkson-320.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cover vs. real life</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We then looked at images of magazine covers compared to images of the people featured in real-life. Singer Kelly Clarkson was featured, as well as tennis star Andy Roddick. In pairs, the kids compared these images and answered a few questions about the type of products they might expect to see advertised in these magazines, what kind of messages the magazine covers send about how men/boys and women/girls should look, and how they might feel about themselves after looking at these magazines. The first two questions were challenging, but doable. I'm not sure they were ready for that last question, however. Answers varied, and may have been written down AFTER a group discussion to share ideas and help clarify, but here are two samples.</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ysy_Jl_l2KA/UYlLWZw5U6I/AAAAAAAAFgI/P__JsHKZRoU/s1600/self.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ysy_Jl_l2KA/UYlLWZw5U6I/AAAAAAAAFgI/P__JsHKZRoU/s320/self.jpg" height="106" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CD27hoAHLmQ/UYlLR4JNofI/AAAAAAAAFgA/K1vYVpQNYQE/s1600/mensfitness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CD27hoAHLmQ/UYlLR4JNofI/AAAAAAAAFgA/K1vYVpQNYQE/s320/mensfitness.jpg" height="203" width="320" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One pair of boys struggled to answer "How might a boy or a man <b>feel</b> about himself after looking at this magazine?" It really is hard to conceptualize and imagine how others feel, so I changed the question a litte bit. &nbsp;"How do you think <i>Andy Roddick</i> felt when he saw that picture of himself?" &nbsp;I mean, here you have a world-class athlete in the best physical shape a person can be in, yet they had to bulk him up for the magazine cover. The boys responded at the same exact time, "I bet he didn't like it/I bet he felt awesome!"&nbsp;</div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In fact, here's what Andy Roddick thought:</div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.8125px;">The tennis player&nbsp;</span><a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/andy_roddick/index.html?inline=nyt-per" style="background-color: white; color: #666699; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.8125px;" title="More articles about Andy Roddick.">Andy Roddick</a>&nbsp;<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.8125px;">apparently thought that his biceps had been enlarged so conspicuously in the photograph of himself on the cover of Men’s Fitness that he mocked it on his blog,&nbsp;</span><a href="http://andyroddick.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #666699; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.8125px;" target="_">AndyRoddick.com</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 22.8125px;">. In an entry posted Tuesday, Mr. Roddick wrote that he was “pretty sure I’m not as fit as the Men’s Fitness cover suggests” and “little did I know I have 22-inch guns,” referring to his biceps. He also noted that a prominent birthmark on his right arm had been erased. (<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/28/business/media/28fitness.html?_r=2&amp;" target="_blank">NYTimes</a>)</span></blockquote>&nbsp;Meanwhile, for Kelly Clarkson, Self editors said they altered her image to make her "look her personal best." Well, one reader responded:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">"Taking out red eye and airbrushing a pimple would be making her look her personal best. You completely changed the way her body looked. Why even bother asking Kelly Clarkson to pose in your magazine if you didn't think her body fit into your idea of what was best?"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">&nbsp;(<a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20297322,00.html" target="_blank">People</a>)</span></blockquote>I don't know precisely what impact all the airbrushing and altering has on kids who see these things everywhere. &nbsp;It has certainly influenced my own thoughts on "beauty" and what is "ideal" in our culture. The lesson itself is designed to point out the correlation between what we are shown constantly and the impact it can have on our self-image. While that concept might be beyond a 3rd grader's understanding, I at least want to help them learn to look at things with a more critical eye. And not just images! Our 4th graders are currently debating whether or not chocolate milk is good for you, as they tackle a writing unit on argument essays. They are seeing/hearing/reading so many conflicting opinions, distorted facts, and biased arguments made on both sides. Through articles, radio broadcasts, and videos, we are asking them to wade through several different resources. How do they know what's real? How do we get them to the point of considering the source of information and the motivation behind it? This idea of being critical is imperative to their processing and research. And it is a skill that will serve them well far beyond the walls of school.<br /><br />For now, I'm excited to share the latest "altered image" controversy with my students in a few days. Disney is elevating Merida, from the movie "Brave," to official princess status. So she got a <a href="http://www.themarysue.com/merida-character-redesign-disney/" target="_blank">makeover</a>. UGH. Why, Disney, WHY??<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3/bi/pn/IdbipnIhooarvOG-556x313-noPad.jpg?1367864991" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://change-production.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/3/bi/pn/IdbipnIhooarvOG-556x313-noPad.jpg?1367864991" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before and after - is this really necessary?<br />(petition to "Keep Our Hero Brave" already underway at <a href="https://www.change.org/petitions/disney-say-no-to-the-merida-makeover-keep-our-hero-brave" target="_blank">change.org</a>)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2902746729449998162.post-61203054440822845722013-05-03T13:33:00.000-07:002014-09-30T14:22:59.623-07:00Gender Issues, part 3 - Girl Rising, Rape Culture, Modern-Day Feminism<span style="font-size: xx-small;">In case you missed them, here are parts <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/02/gender-issues-part-1.html" target="_blank">1</a> and <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/03/gender-issues-part-2-subtitle-holly.html" target="_blank">2</a>. And here's a direct link to the <a href="http://pinterest.com/msgerla/gendersocial-health/" target="_blank">Gender/Social Health</a> board on Pinterest where we've been posting more resources.</span><br /><i><br /></i><i>Long story short, about a year ago, I spent the day with a small group of middle school-age girls, and I overheard something that I wish I hadn't. "It isn't rape if you like it," one casually tossed out there, while laughing about something completely unrelated. Giggled responses. Horrified me. I froze... shocked. Did that really just happen? Did she say what I think she said? I was paralyzed. And what's worse? I said nothing.</i><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://justordinarymoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/girl-rising-image.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://justordinarymoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/girl-rising-image.png" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girl Rising</td></tr></tbody></table>Fast forward a year. The full dive into issues of gender stereotypes, media portrayals, advertising, "slut shaming,"<a href="https://www.upworthy.com/a-ted-talk-that-might-turn-every-man-who-watches-it-into-a-feminist-its-pretty-fantastic-7" target="_blank">victim blaming</a>, and <a href="http://www.upsettingrapeculture.com/rapeculture.php" target="_blank">rape culture</a>&nbsp;has left me reeling. I am a feminist...I'm not ashamed to admit it. As I mentioned in <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2013/02/gender-issues-part-1.html" target="_blank">part 1</a>, my gender undoubtedly brings bias to my writing because this is the point of view through which I experience the world. I am raising two daughters, so I care deeply about the way they see themselves and the way the world tells them they should see themselves. I am perpetually aware of the influence I have in this department, and I am doing my best to set a good example (FYI, it's extremely HARD). Opening the fire hose of information that is the internet makes it hard to slow things to a trickle and speak or write clearly on one particular topic. There are so many branches and paths to follow! But here is where my mind has wandered lately, what I've watched, read, or listened to, and here's what I have learned along the way. I realize my parenting style is different from others, and everyone needs to make the best choices for their families. You are the ones who know your own children best, and you wish to instill in them the values you hold dear. I only share my experience in the hopes that it might help make a few difficult conversations a bit easier to face. I also selfishly need to write this down so I can learn from it.<br /><br />With a huge desire in my heart to raise two strong and confident girls, I took them to see <a href="http://girlrising.com/" target="_blank">Girl Rising</a>, a documentary film that highlights the lives of 9 different girls from different countries around the world, and the struggles they endure to simply get an education. We come from a world of extreme privilege by comparison to their stories, and I wanted my girls to value more strongly what they are blessed to experience each day, and to get a glimpse of what life is like for girls in other parts of our world. Trailer below:<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/BJsvklXhYaE?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0' /><br /><br />The film is rated PG-13, and contains some difficult material. But I made a personal decision that this was information--the reality of our world--that I didn't want to shield from my own children. I was overwhelmingly moved by the girls in the film, declaring each successive mini-biography to be "my favorite" as the film progressed. What courage and spirit these girls showed! What unimaginable things they suffered. What lengths they went to for the opportunity to learn and make their lives better. What sacrifices their families made for them. It was utterly awe-inspiring. &nbsp;I knew there would be references to <a href="http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs239/en/" target="_blank">rape and violence</a> as these crimes are nearly unescapable for girls in some countries. I appreciated the way it was handled in this documentary project...truthfully, yet with sensitivity. &nbsp;One girl from Nepal, Suma, tells a tragic tale of being sold into bonded labor at the age of six. As she revisits her past and the many homes in which she was forced to work, she simply says, "I cannot talk about everything that happened to me here." The audience is left to fill the silence with our own conclusions, and she doesn't have to relive her childhood horrors to make an already dramatic story more so. It was beautifully done, supplemented with powerful statistics to drive the point home.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">There are 66 million girls who are not in school; 14 million girls under 18 who will be married this year; and 150 million girls are victims of sexual violence each year. (<a href="http://bigstory.ap.org/article/girl-rising-spotlights-need-girls-education" target="_blank">AP</a>)</blockquote><div style="text-align: right;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130429160122-girls-rising-story-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/130429160122-girls-rising-story-top.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amina, Afghanistan</td></tr></tbody></table>Could my children, ages 10 and 12, imagine a life like young Amina? Being forced into marriage with an older man at the tender age of 11? Giving birth to her first child at the age of 12? What a completely foreign concept to all of us. It hurt my heart just to think about it.<br /><br />And then there was Yasmin.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">“He was strong but I was stronger.” A young Egyptian girl falls prey to a violent attack but, rather than become a victim, she becomes a superhero. Yasmin’s is the story of the triumph of imagination over a reality too painful to bear. (<a href="http://girlrising.com/" target="_blank">Girl Rising</a>)</blockquote>Yasmin's story captivated my youngest daughter, because it was told in sort of a graphic novel format, &nbsp;à la <i><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/" target="_blank">Persepolis</a></i>, where she becomes the hero in her own tale, explaining her rape to the police officer with the words, "He took me to the dark place." She leaves it at that. Only in her tale she emerges triumphant over her attacker and refuses to see herself as a victim.<br /><br />Upon debrief the next evening, that particular scene needed clarification. "Mom, what happened when the man touched her shoulder and took her to the dark place?" My daughter knew there was more to the story, but she didn't understand it.<br /><br />Oh boy...here we go.<br /><br /><i>How do I explain rape when I haven't even officially had <b>the sex talk</b> with my child?</i> I thought to myself. I was already several weeks into my own personal "Gender Issues" study, and I was fully immersed in it. &nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steubenville_High_School_rape_case" target="_blank">Steubenville</a>...&nbsp;<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/02/invisible-war-has-changed-the-conversation-on-rape-in-the-military.html" target="_blank">The Invisible War</a>...the <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/286875" target="_blank">Violence Against Women Act</a>&nbsp;up for reauthorization...<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/12/justice/california-rape-arrests/index.html" target="_blank">Audrie Pott</a>...<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/12/rehtaeh-parsons-investigation-reopened_n_3073944.html" target="_blank">Rehtaeh Parsons</a>... <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/apr/18/facebook-big-misogyny-problem" target="_blank">misogyny</a>... <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/sexes/archive/2012/11/america-is-still-a-patriarchy/265428/" target="_blank">patriarchy</a>... <a href="http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-objectification/" target="_blank">objectification</a>... <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2013/01/03/play-with-my-v-spot/" target="_blank">sexualization</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;Where do I begin? I wanted to address the overall theme of women's rights and gender equality, sharing information that would be helpful but not overwhelming. After all, I was actively looking for these stories, not just accidentally happening across them, and the girls certainly did not need that level of exposure. But this simple question from my child was a sharp slap in the face of all the things they DIDN'T know yet.<br /><br />Now, don't get me wrong. They weren't completely in the dark. I had doled out what I thought was age-appropriate information throughout their childhood. We've done the birds and the bees and the "hit parade of puberty" as we learned about it in our first experience with <a href="http://www.greatconversations.com/?page_id=265" target="_blank">Julie Metzger</a> of <a href="http://www.greatconversations.com/" target="_blank">Great Conversations</a>. (I cannot recommend these classes enough!) We've talked about <a href="http://www.ethics4adigitalworld.org/2011/02/feelings-actions-consequences.html" target="_blank">feelings, actions, and consequences</a>. &nbsp;But I knew that to answer this question, we were going to have to acknowledge and address the dark side of sex (and power and control). And I certainly didn't want that to be the only thing we talked about. So I took a deep breath and dove in, answering the question as simply as I could.<br /><br />"She was raped."<br /><br />"I don't know what that means. What is rape?"<br /><br />Here began my attempt to explain Yasmin's story, Suma's story, and tragically, the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-simon/dear-jane-doe-me-too_b_2968753.html" target="_blank">story</a> of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/soraya-chemaly/50-facts-rape_b_2019338.html" target="_blank">far too many</a> girls and women in our world. <a href="http://www.scarleteen.com/what_is_rape_what_is_it_like_to_be_raped" target="_blank">What is rape?</a> It is the sexual violation of a person against her/his will. Without her/his <a href="http://goodmenproject.com/families/the-healthy-sex-talk-teaching-kids-consent-ages-1-21/" target="_blank">consent</a>. It is a horrifying violation. It is about power, not sex. Of course, this naturally led to (or began with) more questions and answers about what sex is, what it can and should be, how to know when you are ready, what to do to keep yourself safe, why do people have sex in the first place? Lots of curiosity...brilliant questions...an opening of a door.<br /><br />Maybe I overshared, but I used the opportunity to address the Steubenville case, which they HAD seen on the news. I could go on and on about my disgust with the&nbsp;<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carl-gibson/patriarchy-dominates_b_2909551.html" target="_blank">media coverage</a>, but I simply explained to my kids that the victim in that case was a girl who was violated against her will, that other people stood around and laughed and photographed and texted and shared the crime committed against her, <i>and did nothing to stop it</i>. I talked about the concept of <a href="http://goodmenproject.com/families/the-healthy-sex-talk-teaching-kids-consent-ages-1-21/" target="_blank">consent</a>, and how no one ever ever EVER has the right to do something to you without yours, but that is certainly one topic that will come around again and again. And again.<br /><br />I went off the rails a little bit, I'll be honest. I seized an opportunity to talk with my children in the wake of an emotional experience the three of us had together. Girl Rising shed light on many things we didn't know before, and ended up teaching me an awful lot about myself in the process. Our eyes were opened more widely to things we hadn't deeply considered before.<br /><br />The point of the film is to highlight the importance of education for these girls, and for all the 66 million girls in the world who don't get to go to school. "Educate a girl, change the world" is the slogan. In spite of the depressing statistics and the darkness and hardship faced by many of these girls (those in the film and many more around the world and even in our own country) the overall message is one of great hope. Educating girls lifts up entire communities.<br /><br />As one reviewer wrote:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Education is the engine of change for impoverished girls all over the globe. Schooling is to the mind as food is to the body: an essential source of nourishment and growth. This is a message of hope as well as of responsibility. We are the world. These girls are not separate from us. They speak to us directly in Girl Rising, and if we hear them, we will find a way to help them realize their vision and their dreams. (<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-edmund-moody/girl-rising-and-the-power_b_2846220.html" target="_blank">Moody</a>)</blockquote><u>All of us need educating</u>. I need educating. &nbsp;I think back to that experience a year ago and I wish I would have said something. I don't really know why I didn't, I have no idea what I would have said, and I'm fairly certain it wouldn't have come out right. But I still regret my silence. I feel more capable and confident having that difficult conversation now. I have educated myself more. I won't let it go next time. &nbsp;Sexual assault is NEVER a joke. Empowering our children to make healthy choices, respectful of themselves and others, will always be our job. I think I could now respond to "it's not rape if you like it" without a lose-my-cool-over-the-top lecture (who listens to that anyway?), but with an honest, open conversation that a statement like that invites. I sure hope so.<br /><br />Holly Gerlahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17947972659190848360noreply@blogger.com0